


best friend zone

by sooshmon



Category: TWICE - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Fluff, High School, MaybeAngst, Romance, Will add tags as I go, shouldbefluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sooshmon/pseuds/sooshmon
Summary: high school au where school nerd mina gets 5 days of after school detention after covering up for careless cheer captain im nayeon.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina
Comments: 21
Kudos: 185





	1. Chapter 1

"who's notebook is this?" the teacher is absolutely fuming. to mina, he's even beginning to resemble a dried tomato, with all those wrinkles probably from stressing way too much over the most useless things. like that notebook he's holding for example. it's filled with childish doodles of said teacher and other writings that mina can't quite read from her distance. whatever they were, they must have set the man off.

the classroom is quiet. although mina is sure she hears subtle snickers from a few of her classmates. who wouldn't though, the drawing of his angry face and his scarcity of hairs and his protruding belly are all quite accurate.

"if no one claims this notebook, i will give you all detention! no one leaves this classroom until i find out who it is."

there's a collective groan in the classroom. this is exactly why everyone hates their teacher. he overreacts unreasonably at everything that offends him. mina props an elbow and rests her cheek on her hand. this is beginning to get annoying. she could be home right now, finishing her harry potter lego set. but here she is in her last class of the day, wasting precious time being held up by a dried tomato.

mina then catches a glimpse of the cover of the notebook. it's purple and covered with a collage of words that read 'i love myself'. her eyes widen. she knows who exactly in their room would own such a notebook. not that she pays extra attention to the owner or anything. purple is just a nice color and the words 'love myself' are a great self-esteem booster.

she turns to the back of the classroom where she sees the owner fast asleep behind her best friend, jeongyeon. she must be tired from cheerleading practice, especially since fall game season has started... no, mina doesn't stalk her or anything. her best friends momo and sana just happen to be on the cheerleading team and she hears a lot of stories about said captain. about how she's extremely playful, childish, flirty, but also turns super strict when she's on captain mode.

she's got her head buried in her arms, completely oblivious to the fact that her notebook is causing the whole class unneeded trouble.

just then, teacher tomato is hit with an incredibly genius light bulb idea and decides to search through the pages of the notebook to search for a name. he honestly could have done that way earlier on but he was way into his feelings to think of it. but then mina panics. if he finds out who it is, the owner will get detention. then she'll miss important cheerleading practice which would be a big problem considering her vital role as the leader of the team. mina remembers sana and momo mentioning they have a game coming up and that they also need to be in tip top shape for competition.

too clouded in concern for the cheerleading team, (yes the whole cheerleading team, definitely NOT just a specific person on the team) mina finds herself standing up. her heart's beating out of her chest when she feels all eyes on her but she maintains her composure.

"that's my notebook." she says calmly.

\--

nayeon yawns and stretches her sore limbs as she and her best friend walk through the halls. she doesn't even know what happened in her last class because she slept through half of it. a middle-aged hot tempered man who overreacts to everything was definitely not something she wanted to deal with.

plus, she could always get notes from jeongyeon anyway. on another hand, she badly needed rest. her team's been practicing every day for the past few weeks for the fall games and the upcoming competition. she took her captain role seriously so she always arrived practice way earlier than her team and always left last, making sure to help each individual teammate perfect the routines.

“it was really quiet when we left,” nayeon starts, “what happened while i was asleep?”

“tomato saw your drawings.” jeongyeon answers and stifles a laugh once she sees nayeon’s face morph into horror as she freezes in her footsteps.

“you’re joking right?” she questions. “right?” she begins searching her school bag for said notebook and the more she rummages through her bag, the faster her heart beats. she even decides to look through her practice duffel even though she knows for sure she only puts her practice things in there. “it’s not in here!” she cries.

“yeah, that’s because he has it.” jeongyeon responds nonchalantly.

“oh my god.” nayeon places a hand on her forehead, obviously stressed. “he’s gonna kill me. how many days of detention do you think he’ll give me? i can’t afford to miss practice now! jeongyeon what do i do?”

jeongyeon shakes her head with a disapproving frown. “maybe if you hadn’t been so careless with your stuff, leaving it at random places, then maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“you aren’t in the least bit even comforting me? this is a time of crisis for me and--”

“nayeon, are you really in a time of crisis though? take a look around, you’re already outside the classroom.”

nayeon blinks her eyes. they’ve somehow made into the hallway. she remembers leaving the classroom without even looking at teacher terror once. yet, she made it out alive. why was that? did their evil teacher decide to just forgive and forget? no, that’s impossible, he’d have to grow a full mane of hair on that bald head of his (save for the 3 lingering strands that he always combs to the side) before that ever happened. she furrows her brows. how did she not get in trouble? her insulting doodles warranted at least a few days of detention.

but no, she couldn’t possibly be in detention when their competition is literally in a week. being in detention would mean she’d be late to practice for consecutive days, missing precious practice time. not only that, but it would be irresponsible on her part as captain. this couldn’t have occurred at a worse time.

“wha-what happened?”

“myoui mina took the blame.”

jeongyeon has to close nayeon’s jaw for her.

“myoui mina? as in super smart, super quiet blonde who doesn’t talk to anyone, mina?” nayeon gasps.

it’s hard to believe such a reserved person would cover for her. the girl rarely ever even talks except for all the times teacher baldy would ask her the hardest question just to see if he could shake her composure. she answered every single one of them. correctly too. heck, the girl had to be way smarter than their good for nothing teacher. nayeon often admired her for her wits

“she stood up and told him straight up that the notebook was hers.” jeongyeon recounts shortly.

nayeon feels her heart skip. that’s probably one of the nicest things anyone has done for her. “wh-why would she do that?” she stammers, in awe, completely touched by the act.

“she probably just wanted to leave the classroom. teacher hairless was holding us hostage because no one would admit it was theirs. little did we know, the owner was asleep the whole time.” jeongyeon chided, causing an embarrassed blush to take over the other girl’s cheeks.

“isn’t her record like, spotless? why would she just ruin it to leave class on time?” nayeon questions. “or maybe… does she have a crush on me? because i would totally understand.”

jeongyeon stares at her in disbelief. “you need to get over yourself, im. you should go thank her, she got 5 days of detention because of you.”

nayeon’s eyes becomes twice its size. “5 days?!”

honestly, she isn’t surprised. teacher overdramatic was known for giving unreasonable punishments and yet he always got away with it. she’s appalled at the timing and what gnaws at nayeon’s stomach is the fact that she should’ve been the one to receive detention but now someone has taken her place. however, nayeon can’t miss 5 days of practice due to detention at such a crucial time. their competition is in 7 days. detention lasted 1 hour or more depending on the extremity of misconduct. and recently, practice has been starting earlier than usual so they could perfect the routine. after all, she promised she would lead her team to victory.

here she is, completely unscathed by teacher grumpy’s would have been unending scolds because someone stood in her place. now that nayeon thinks of it, mina has just saved her. myoui mina deserved more than just a ‘thank you.’

“i’ll make it up to her.”

\--

(the detention classroom is conveniently by the field, where a lot of the sports teams practice. including those teams, is the cheerleading team. )

mina’s spent the past 15 minutes mindlessly staring at everything outside of the window. she can see the soccer teams beginning their drills at the center, the track team has already completed 3 laps around the track, and there’s a couple more sports teams beginning their respective practices, each situated in their own areas.

she spots someone familiar on the rightmost side of the large field. she’s alone, earlier than her teammates. a heat crawls up on mina’s face. she’s only ever seen the girl in her uniform. but now, she’s wearing a simple shirt donning the school’s colors and a pair of short shorts that make her she look really really good. mina quickly looks away, suddenly focusing her attention on twiddling her thumbs.

a few minutes later, mina looks up once again. this time she’s not alone. she’s joined by two other members of her team. mina easily recognizes them as her two best friends, sana and momo. mina watches as they exchange greetings and quick chats. suddenly however, mina sees the brunette running. running towards her. towards her? mina turns away quickly.

mina shakes her head. she’s probably running back to school for something. she probably needs to use the restroom. yes, that makes more sense, because the restrooms are just a few doors away from the detention classroom.

her speculations are confirmed when she hears the faint sound of footsteps outside of the classroom.

except, they don’t stop where mina expects them to. they get nearer and louder just like mina’s heart. before she knows it, there’s a pale hand that latches itself onto the doorframe and mina quickly pretends to be invested on the vandalized desks.

mina hears panting from the door and she fights the urge to whip her head to the direction. it’s not her, mina repeats to herself. what are the chances? it could just be some random student who’s mistaken the wrong classroom. or maybe even a teacher.

but then she hears a short “ahem,” and it prompts mina to look up automatically. mina’s heart completes a somersault, it’s no teacher. it’s definitely not just a student.

it’s fricking

“im nayeon,” mina says breathlessly


	2. Chapter 2

(while mina was in the detention room...)

nayeon places her duffel on the ground. she’s arrived their designated area of the field before her teammates and all the other teams have either begun practice or have only begun to gather around. nayeon waits a few more minutes before two other members arrive, inseparable as usual.

“hi nayeon unnie!” the ginger, Sana, greets with her ever bright smile.

“hello, cap’n.” the blonde, Momo, greets as well, with a dopey grin.

“hi you two!” she exclaims. “could i ask you for a quick favor please?”

“sure!” sana replies.

“i have to go back inside school to do something, it’ll take a few minutes at most. could you guys start warm-ups if i take any longer?” she asks urgently.

sana and momo exchange looks as if passing a mental message.

“yeah of course, unnie.” momo responds for the both of them. “take your time.”

nayeon sighs gratefully. “i can always depend on you two! thank you so much. i’ll be back okay?”

with that, she runs off in the direction of the restrooms with the two best friends watching her, in shock.

“nayeon unnie never runs.” sana’s eyes are wide.

momo nods in agreement, a similar expression on her face.

“what do you think? number 1 or number 2?”

sana tilts her head, watchin their captain run. "number 2, most definitely."

\--

nayeon is panting heavily when she arrives at the door. running across the field had been such a workout. thankfully, just as she had expected, myoui mina is in the detetntion classroom. but the blonde doesn’t even bother looking at her. she’s busy staring at the desk and nayeon can’t help but feel a bit offended. mina should’ve _felt_ nayeon’s presence arrive, yet she looked as if she cared more about the writings on the desk than anything else.

“ahem” nayeon coughs, and in just a second, the blonde looks up and for a split second nayeon swears that she looks starstruck.

“im nayeon” she says. it’s the first time nayeon’s ever heard the other girl say her name

‘good, you know my name.’ nayeon thinks to herself.

“what are you doing here?” mina asks, turning to the window this time, as if she could care less that nayeon’s here.

the short-haired brunette has to hold in a scoff. but she knows she doesn’t have the right to be angry at the blonde so she lowers her ego.

“look, jeongyeon told me what happened.” she starts, twiddling her fingers. “i just wanna say thank you. you really saved me. especially since it’s competition week, i really can’t afford to miss practice for detention.”

mina still hasn’t even spared her a glance and it irks nayeon to her core. but she takes a deep breath to control herself.

“i’m really sorry, i got you involved in something that i should have been punished for. it’s my fault. you shouldn’t have to spend your precious time in detention.” she apologizes. “i promise to make it up to you.”

but mina still refuses to look her and nayeon decides she can’t hold in her patience any longer.

“hey look,” she starts, stepping closer. “i know you might be angry but i didn’t ask you to take the blame for me. i’m totally fine telling the teacher that it was my notebook all along so if that’s what you want--”

“don’t,” mina cuts her off, finally speaking, yet still looking towards the window.

“don’t what?” nayeon prods, stepping closer.

“don’t you have practice?”

nayeon’s eyes widen when she looks at her watch. she has 3 minutes to get back. she groans mentally, this means she’s going to have to run.

“crap,” she curses, “i’ll come back. we’ll settle this tomorrow.” she mutters as she prepares for the physical workout that she hates the most.

she takes one more look at the blonde before she scoffs and runs back to the field.

(she doesn’t hear it but there’s a huge exhale from inside the classroom. as if the person had held in her breath until the exact moment she left.)

\--

mina leans back onto her bed. the image of nayeon in her practice clothes won’t leave her mind. she remembers just how much her cheeks burned from the sight alone. she couldn’t even dare to look at the brunette because she would probably scare her with how much she was blushing.

however, it seemed that nayeon had grown more irritated than weirded out and mina wishes she could’ve gathered the courage to tell her it was fine instead of sitting there silently. but how could she even speak when the brunette knocked her breath out of her chest? mina recalls just how hard she had tried to stay calm when nayeon stepped closer. they weren’t touching but she was close enough for mina to feel the warmth radiating from her body. and close enough for mina to get a whiff of her scent. she smelled of cherries and roses, it made mina feel light headed.

(so mina felt she had no choice but to hold her breath.)

turning to her stomach, mina stuffs her face into the pillow. why can’t she act normal around im nayeon? it’s as if her heart magically starts running at 1000 mph when she’s around.

mina turns to her bedside table. on top of it is the purple notebook that started it all. she had picked it up on her way out of the classroom when she saw it had been left on the teacher’s desk. a part of her has been wanting to open the notebook ever since she picked it up.

the moral part of mina shakes the thought away. it may just be better to return the purple notebook as soon as possible just so she could prevent herself from getting tempted. mina then shuts her eyes in distress cause another problem presents itself.

how the hell is she going to approach im nayeon? when she basically flat-out ignored the girl earlier today. she’s probably going to have to apologize for her behavior. with that, mina starts to think of sample dialogues and practices approaching the short-haired brunette.

she’d first walk up to nayeon’s desk in class.

then she’d greet politely and bow at her.

then she’d say,

‘i ignored you yesterday, if you still remember. but here’s your notebook that i definitely did not read in case you think i did. thank you.’

…

'that is definitely not something i should say' mina shakes her head in frustration

this was going to be a very long night.

\--

mina’s been rehearsing her lines ever since she had arrived at school. and she has been rehearsing them all day. every time she went to the bathroom, every time she got the chance to walk alone in the hallway. even during lunch with momo and sana when the two babbled on and on about cheer competition and whatever else (although mina always paid attention whenever a certain name came up in the conversation).

‘this is it,’ mina reminds herself before she enters her last class of the day. she catches teacher tomato glaring daggers at her but she could care less. she couldn’t be bothered by some middle-aged man with a hate for high school students.

she scans the classroom. nayeon’s not here yet. that means she still has time for some last-minute practice. the brunette always arrived just right before the bell with jeongyeon, her best friend. usually with a strawberry milk drink in hand.

mina rummages through her bag for the notebook, deciding she should probably have it ready at hand for when nayeon arrived, so she could approach the girl and get it over with as soon as possible.

but it ends quicker than mina would have ever imagined because as soon as she retrieves the purple notebook, it’s quickly snatched from her hand. mina looks up to find it is none other than the owner herself. with wide eyes, mina watches as im nayeon narrows her eyes while sipping on her strawberry milk.

“i’ll take this back, thank you.” she says, leaving mina both speechless and breathless. all that practice goes down the drain. and so does mina’s functioning brain.

as soon as class ends, mina makes sure to be the first one to leave as usual. she all but dashes to the detention room, before she crosses paths with nayeon and her mind short circuits once again. she’s not ready to face any embarrassment just yet.

\--

nayeon drops her duffel onto the field before rubbing the arm that jeongyeon had hit earlier in class. the stupid ostrich always had the heaviest hands, making the pain of her slaps last longer.

_“that’s not how you treat someone who took the bullet for you. you better go fix it.” jeongyeon had scolded._

‘i didn’t ask her to take the bullet for me.’ nayeon thinks to herself. ‘maybe she shouldn’t be rude and talk to a person in their face like any normal person should. and not ignore me.’

truth be told, nayeon had never encountered anyone like myoui mina. she’s never been blatantly ignored in her life. in fact it had been the total opposite as she's often showered in attention. growing up, she was also taught to always look into one’s eyes when talking. maintaining eye contact meant trust to her.

so it irked nayeon to no point yesterday when she found herself talking to the back of someone’s head, even during her apology when it had been a sincere one. yesterday had also been the first time she had directly spoken to the blonde. yet the girl didn't even offer as much as a glance.

so while waiting for sana and momo to arrive, nayeon paces back in forth, wondering how she was going to tackle this situation at hand, because now she has to apologize for being rude during class when she had snatched the notebook out of her hands.

she groans.

“yah, did minari drink her banana milk today? she was thinking terribly hard during lunch, more seriously than normal.”

“mina is always thinking, sanaring. but i lost braincells just looking at her. i’ll go remind her in case.”

nayeon’s eyes perk up. how could she forget? momo and sana were mina’s best friends! with this connection, she would be able to find out a little more about the reserved blonde. but for now all she needs to know is that banana milk seems to be mina’s vitamin.

“hi nayeon unnie! need to go?” it’s sana who greets her first and the peach has on a playful look in her eyes that nayeon doesn’t quite understand. but she nods her head and thanks the two before running off.

“wow, nayeon unnie has a really precise pooping schedule huh?” sana remarks and momo only hums in agreement.

\--

**minaring~ did you drink your banana milk today?? – momoring**

mina types a short ‘yupp’ before she gets up from her seat because the mention of the beverage awakes a sudden craving for it. on her way to the vending machine, she suddenly remembers an image of im nayeon that has recently engraved itself in her mind. the one where the cheerleader had glared at her upon snatching the purple notebook while sipping on her strawberry milk.

it had been intimidatingly _cute_. but obviously nayeon was still angry …

mina realizes if nayeon does plan on coming back to “settle” whatever it was she wanted to settle, mina should probably give her something as an apology. because if she was rendered speechless by the brunette again, at least she offered a peace offering of sorts.

when mina arrives the vending machine, her eyes land on the pink labeled beverage and beams. what could be a better peace offering then someone’s favorite drink right? she smiles to herself proudly on the way back to the classroom. only to realize she had completely forgotten to buy the banana milk drink she had initially planned to get.

‘i’ll just get one later,’ mina mentally reminds herself, entering the classroom.

but she’s not alone.

“you better look at me when i’m talking to you this time.”

it’s im nayeon. and she’s seated on mina’s designated detention desk, with her arms crossed. she’s wearing sweat pants and an oversized version of the school shirt that she’s tied on the side to reveal her pale waist.

mina gulps, she almost drops the drink in her hands out of shock. but the sight of a banana milk drink that’s in nayeon’s hand causes mina to widen her eyes even more in shock. since when did im nayeon like banana milk?

“is that strawberry milk…?” nayeon’s voice snaps mina out of her momentary daze.

mina swallows and takes brave steps toward nayeon. and when she stops at just a meter away, she swears they begin to feel like jelly. then she inhales and builds up the courage to speak. it’s now or never.

“peace offering.” she mutters trying to sound as cool as she can, offering the beverage while keeping her eyes on her shoes. if she had looked up she would have caught the way nayeon’s eyes had widened in surprise as a pink shade took over her cheeks.

“i got this for you, too.”

mina is prompted to look up and her heart skips when she finds that nayeon is gesturing for her to take the yellow drink.

im nayeon bought her a drink.

im nayeon bought her a drink.

im nayeon bought her favorite drink.

those are the only words that repeat in mina’s head for a full minute. how did she even know mina liked banana milk?

there’s an electric tingle on mina’s skin where she slightly grazes upon nayeon’s hand when exchanging drinks.

“i think we may have started off on the wrong foot.” nayeon initiates the conversation. “i’m sorry for being a little mean earlier today.”

mina doesn’t know what has suddenly given her the courage to speak. but she’s able to actually formulate a sentence in nayeon’s presence and it’s a major accomplishment. maybe all they really needed was a peace offering.

“and i’m sorry for yesterday. i was rude.” mina tries her very best to maintain her cool. she keeps her eyes on her drink because eye contact with the person sitting across from her may be the one thing that causes her mind to go crazy.

“no. this is all my fault actually. you shouldn’t be apologizing. it’s all cuz of this dumb notebook of mine. i’m really sorry for involving you in something that you shouldn’t ha—

“don’t.” mina doesn’t want her to apologize.

“don’t i have practice, you mean?” nayeon rolls her eyes. “yeah, but i wanted to say--”

“don’t say sorry.” mina quickly cuts her off.

"oh." nayeon's expression softens and she returns to sipping her drink.

a silence falls upon the two. it’s a comfortable one. one where mina silently glances at the brown haired girl as they both sip their respective milk drinks. mina doesn’t know what else to say. to be honest, mina doesn't mind if they could stay this way a little longer. being in the presence of nayeon set her body wild, and yet at the same time now, the brunette had such a calming effect on mina that no other peaceful place could compare. mina found it quite confusing how that could even be possible. but here she is now.

eventually, her eyes travel to the window and her eyes dart to the rightmost area where the cheerleaders are currently gathering. they’re missing their most important member. out of concern for the cheer captain, she speaks up, even though a part of her wanted to stay silent and bask in their atmosphere.

“don’t you have practice?” mina reminds.

nayeon tenses up, startling herself. she all but dashes to the door but not without turning around one last time.

“i’ll see you tomorrow.”

mina opens her mouth to respond but no words come out this time.

just as she had thought, eye contact with im nayeon would be the reason her mind would go blank.


	3. the discovery

nayeon arrives the practice area right before their coach arrives and for the first time, she forgets about how tired she is from running. all throughout the practice she’s in an unusually good mood for some reason. even when a few members make repeated mistakes, she’s much less strict than she usually would be.

soon enough practice ends without nayeon even realizing it. after their last cool down exercise, nayeon and their coach thank them for a productive practice, then dismisses them.

“you’re in a good mood, nayeonnie.” sana comments.

nayeon recalls drinking the tastiest strawberry milk she had ever tasted in a classroom with the girl who saved her from detention. she remembers their short conversation—an exchange of apologies. she remembers the way the blonde bashfully avoided her eyes when they spoke. and how adorable she looked all speechless when nayeon finally caught her eyes just before she left.

“i guess i am.”

“did something good happen?” momo joins in.

“someone gave me a strawberry milk drink.”

“that's cute! who?” sana chimes in, raising her brows in a suggesting manner.

“well you guys know her pretty well actually.”

\--

mina slept like a baby last night. good dreams and all. and so far the school day has been fairly nice. she has not once stopped thinking about the way nayeon looked at her yesterday. how the girl’s eyes gleamed brighter than she had ever seen it. and how her plump limps formed a perfect heart when she smiled.

sana and momo were quick to notice her extremely good mood during lunch but surprisingly, they never asked about it. they only shared knowing looks that mina didn’t quite understand but she’s glad they aren’t too curious because mina isn’t really sure how to describe her situation either.

it’s like her heart goes thump thump! and her head goes plop! or the way her legs go gurglegurgle!

mina really can’t even begin to describe the way she feels around im nayeon…

weirdly enough though, sana places a hand on mina’s shoulder right before they went their separate ways to their respective classes.

“good luck!” she had told mina, with one of those sana smiles that tell her everything’s gonna be alright. mina doesn’t know the reason for the sudden words of support but sana’s random like that sometimes so she returns the smile to her squirrel of a friend.

“i should be saying that to you.” she says. “you guys have a game to cheer for later don’t you?”

“games are nothing.” sana waves her hand. “it’s the competition we’re really focused on. you’re coming to watch, right?”

mina never bothered with public school events. they really weren’t her thing. but she was always there to support her two best friends at the games or competitions. yes, for her two best friends only and definitely **not** to see their captain or anything…

“of course i am.” mina assures. “always”

“see you later then, mitang!” sana winks before waving goodbye and catching up with momo who has spent the past few minutes at the vending machine trying to decide what she wants to snack on.

“see you, satang” mina waves back, shaking her head fondly as she watches her two best friends argue about choosing a snack.

soon enough, mina finds herself in her last class. her least favorite teacher and subject. somehow though, it was bearable. the only thing that ever motivated her in class was that it would be over and that she could finally leave school. but recently, she has been a bit more motivated to get to detention for some reason. maybe because she found peace in the empty classroom. watching fellow schoolmates outside on the field was amusing. it was funny how many sports members were actually quite goofy during practice but turned into absolute beasts when they were in game mode. it was like watching a behind-the-scenes. mina thinks that maybe, the detention is actually a blessing in disguise.

her thoughts are interrupted by a soft thud on her desk. she first sees a slender hand placed on top of her desk and when she looks up to trace its owner, her heart stops for a moment.

“hi notebook thief.” nayeon greets with a charming smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

‘hi, heart thief.’

‘wait, what?’

“hi.” mina responds, trying her hardest to make it seem normal. but she did it! she was able to say something while maintaining eye contact with the girl. this was some progress.

“come to the game later.” nayeon says boldly.

mina smiles. she hasn’t missed a single game and she definitely won’t miss one now.

“i’ll be there.” mina manages to reply, although her whole body feels as if she’s on fire. she has to rest her face on her hand to hide the growing blush on her face

“good.” nayeon nods. “i’ll see you later then.”

mina nods, unable to think of anything else to say. maybe she’s reached her capacity for talking to nayeon while making eye contact.

she spends the rest of class preparing herself mentally for later as she thinks of all the possible things to say, and all the possible directions their interaction could go later at the detention classroom.

nonetheless, mina is elated. is she really on a talking basis with JYP high’s popular cheerleading captain? it was surely something to be proud of.

when class ends she leaves first as always, too afraid that if she looks at nayeon, she’ll forget everything she had spent the past hour practicing in her head.

\--

nayeon pouts. “why does she always disappear right after class?”

“she probably wants to get as far away from you as possible.” jeongyeon replies, which earns her a slap on the arm. nayeon doesn’t have a comeback however, instead she starts feeling the tiniest bit conscious. what if she really was annoying the blonde? maybe what she had done earlier in class was too bold…

jeongyeon seems to read her mind. she elbows the brunette lightly. “are you really worried about annoying mina?”

nayeon looks down. she can’t help but feel a little concerned for some reason.

“you annoy everyone. what’s new?”

just when she thought her best friend would actually say something comforting for once, jeongyeon proves her wrong once again and it earns her yet another slap on her arm.

“i hate you jeong!”

“hate you too, grandma! mehrong~” jeongyeon runs off knowing nayeon would never be able to catch up.

-

nayeon arrives their practice area and before a minute passes, she’s already greeted by the inseparable duo.

“nayeonnie!” sana exclaims.

“sana! momo!” nayeon greets with equal enthusiasm

“we came early so you could have more time to go do your thing!” momo chimes, with a wink.

nayeon erupts into a grateful grin. “thank you so much! i owe you guys.”

momo watches in awe at nayeon running off again. “i’ve never seen anyone so excited to poop.”

“yah, dummy. she’s going to visit mina. she explained this yesterday. were you listening?” sana rolls her eyes at her airhead of a friend.

“oh really? i thought she went to mina **after** she did her thing…”

sana doesn’t reply. she just she shakes her head.

“sanaring,” momo starts. “you know mina doesn’t know how to properly communicate with people right? how much more if it’s nayeon? aren’t you a little worried?”

“we’ll step in when it’s truly needed. mina would hate it if we were meddling.” sana replies.

-

nayeon unconsciously smiles when she sees the blonde sitting at her usual seat by the window. there’s a pink milk drink sitting atop her desk and nayeon can’t help the fluttery feeling in her stomach at the sight.

mina turns her head to her, giving a slight bow and it causes nayeon to giggle as she makes her way to the blonde and takes the seat beside her. she too, places the yellow drink on the desk and the surprised expression on mina’s face makes her go uwuwu. she finds it cute how mina seems to pretend she’s unfazed but is actually easily flustered. afterwards, mina retrieves the straw of the drink and places it inside of the carton, sliding it over to nayeon’s desk. flattered, nayeon returns the gesture and slides the prepared banana milk drink over to her side.

“so what do you do for fun while you’re here, mina?” nayeon starts, sipping on her drink.

“nothing really.” she replies coolly. “i do like seeing everyone doing their thing out on the field.”

nayeon turns her head to the window. she never noticed but it’s actually a really great view of all the sports team and outside activities taking place. a little farther on the right, she can see the cheer team’s area on the field.

“wow, you can see us practicing from here huh.” nayeon observes, and shortly after, mina falls into a coughing fit, probably from drinking too fast. out of concern, nayeon instinctively pats her back softly.

“i’m fine, thank you.” mina replies, backing away a little quickly, as if she had to avoid nayeon’s touch.

nayeon quickly places her hand on her lap. maybe touching her was a little overboard. but it makes her start to wonder if mina is really annoyed by her presence? nayeon waves it off however, she doesn’t let the thought bring her down.

“it must be funny seeing me make all those mistakes. i’m sure it’s entertaining.” nayeon starts, laughing softly. “how embarrassing.”

“no, the cheerleading team always looks good. you lead them well.” mina says, turning to the window.

the compliment makes nayeon’s heart flutter for the nth time.

“hmm, so you do observe us.” nayeon watches as mina tenses in her position. “now that i know we have an audience, i’m a little pressured now.”

“you guys aren’t the only ones i look at, though.”

nayeon frowns at mina’s straight forward statement. she just hums in response. she gets up and makes her way to ledge of the classroom window for a better view (and hopefully catch mina’s face). secretly she glances at mina who’s no longer looking out of the window. instead she has turned her head back to her desk. now, nayeon’s looking at the back of her head, yet again.

“ooh the soccer team’s looking really serious.” she remarks. “we’re gonna win today’s game for sure.”

…

nayeon pouts. mina’s completely silent

“the weather’s looking really nice too, don’t you think? i think it’s perfect for today.” nayeon gushes.

…

still, there is no response, not even a reaction. nayeon leans a little closer to mina, but the girl turns her head even more.

nayeon inhales deeply.

“i’m really excited for this game. it’ll be refreshing hearing people support us before the big competition. it always feels like a rush. since you're going, i could save you a front row seat if you want?”

mina doesn’t respond. the blonde doesn’t even turn to look at her. it makes nayeon wonder if the blonde just doesn’t like her face.

“don’t you—"

“have practice?” nayeon finishes for her. after all her tries at starting a conversation, all the blonde is going to ask is if she has practice. she scoffs in disbelief. this girl has some nerve. she gets it. mina probably wants her to leave right now. but it’s a little unfair, she thinks. in fact it’s confusing her and it’s frustrating her. sometimes she thinks mina likes her, but then mina acts like she can’t stand being around her.

“is that really all you’re gonna say?” nayeon grumbled.

mina doesn’t even react. well nayeon can’t see her face but she’s sure the blonde is probably expressionless like she imagines.

“sorry. i am a bother sometimes.” she continues. “but i’m really trying to make it up to you and be your friend. maybe you don’t want me around, but i can’t simply act like everything is normal when someone else is facing the consequences for my actions.” nayeon lets out. “at least tell me what i can do or if there’s anything i could give to you in exchange.”

again there’s no reply, just as nayeon had expected. she sighs. this is making her feel pathetic. she’s a little upset and to be honest, her strawberry milk doesn’t taste as good as it had tasted yesterday.

she rushes to the door, feeling the atmosphere get incredibly stuffy. her chest has tightened and her eyes sting. ugh, she’s being childish again, just because her feelings are hurt. nayeon hates herself for being so sensitive sometimes.

“i’m sorry.”

nayeon pauses right before she takes a step out of the door.

“what did you say?” she turns around trying her best not to sound like a hurt baby. she finds mina standing just a few feet away, her eyes glued to the ground, biting her lip. she looks absolutely flushed.

mina finally looks up, but she freezes once she meets nayeon’s eyes. nayeon blushes in embarrassment realizing how she must look right now. quickly she wipes her watery eyes. god, she’s such a crybaby.

“you’re cryi--”

“i’m not crying.” she says. “it’s allergies.” she lies.

mina looks like she’s at a loss for words and her expression looks terribly guilty.

“i’m not crying because of you. don’t even feel guilty.” nayeon feels the need to say it out of pride, although she has to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand for the second time.

“i’m sorry.”

“i said it’s not because of you. don’t say sorry.” nayeon says frowning.

mina gulps, taking a deep breath. “i never intended to make you feel like i didn’t want you around.”

nayeon scoffs. “sure.”

“you don’t bother me. not in the least bit.” mina says sincerely.

“then why don’t you ever look at me when i’m talking to you?” nayeon questions, brows furrowed. “and why ignore me and avoid me?”

mina bites her lip. it’s as if answering the questions are the most difficult thing she could ever do.

“because i’m too afraid i’ll embarrass myself in front of you. i'm not good with people.” she finally admits, and this time she’s looking straight into nayeon’s eyes. it makes the brunette’s heart skip.

“so you think pretending i don’t exist is a better option?” nayeon questions, crossing her arms.

mina shakes her head profusely. “n-no it’s not that.”

“sure seems like it.” nayeon huffs.

“i’m sorry.” mina looks down again.

“mina, you can say that a thousand times, but i won’t forgive you until you look at me when you say it.”

mina’s head whips up just like that and her eyes are widened, as if she wasn’t expecting that reply. immediately a deep red colors her face all the way to her ears. nayeon would have thought it was cute if she wasn’t so upset. nayeon waits expectantly, staring straight into the girl’s soft brown eyes.

“i’m sorry.”

nayeon only narrows her eyes however. she takes a step towards the blonde. and then another. and another, until eventually, she’s only about an arm’s distance away. she could see nervousness painted all over mina’s usually calm and composed face.

“say it again.” nayeon commands softly. “and don’t look away.”

“i’m really sorry, nayeon.” mina says, then inhaling sharply, not breaking the eye contact. although she looks as if her legs may give up soon.

seconds pass, but they feel like hours.

and nayeon finally breaks into a mischievous smile. “see it wasn’t that hard now was it?”

she smirks when she sees the way mina looks completely at a loss, so she takes it as her cue to leave. a cliffhanger exit, if you may.

“good luck!” mina utters out, prompting nayeon to turn around one last time. it’s an adorable sight. mina’s head is peeking out of the door.

“you’re weird, mina.” nayeon says with a frown, observing how the blonde is playing with her hands and looking down in a guilty manner. “you know, with the way you’re acting, i’d think you have a crush on me.” she teases.

but just then, nayeon sees it.

the way mina’s face turns an even brighter red. how her jaw becomes unhinged and her mouth forms a very cute ‘o’. how her eyes widen as if she’s just had an epiphany.

nayeon realizes it too. because she’s seen this face many times before. like when one of her many admirers gives her a love letter, or when some student confesses to her. it's the same awe she sees and it's written all over the blonde's face.

‘does myoui mina…

actually have a crush on me?’

\--

mina places a hand on her chest where her heart lies. it’s beating like she’s run a marathon, yet she hasn’t moved a single inch since nayeon left.

_“you know, with the way you’re acting, i’d think you have a crush on me.”_

the words repeat in mina’s head for the nth time, getting louder every time. as if it’s begging to be understood and analyzed. it’s exactly what mina is trying to comprehend and confirm.

‘the way i’m acting…’ she wonders to herself. ‘makes nayeon think i have a crush on her…?’

immediately, images of how she’d act around the cheer captain flood her mind. like how her cheeks would warm up at the mere sight of the brunette. how her eyes automatically travel to the girl like it were some instinct. how she’d tense up during their short conversations. how she’d lose her train of thought whenever they met eyes.

how she had selflessly took the blame for nayeon’s notebook without expecting or even wanting anything in return…

the realization hits mina like a wrecking ball. all this time, her heart had been trying to tell her something that her mind continuously denied. and now she’s finally got the message. it explains everything: the way she feels, the way she acts, the way nayeon has had such an effect on her that she never truly understood.

‘i have a crush on im nayeon.’

the realization lightens a burden on mina she never knew she had been carrying.

“i have a crush on im nayeon.” she says it out loud this time.

\--

nayeon doesn’t know what to make of this newfound knowledge. at first it had been touching, mind blowing, confidence boosting. something she had always felt whenever anyone confessed to her.

however, nayeon doesn’t feel anything other than flattered. sure, she found mina cute and all, especially when she got all flustered, but she didn’t find the blonde to be the heart-racing type of cute. the type of cute that made her insides go wild. if anything, she found the blonde to be endearing, like how she would feel if she were to have a younger sister.

if mina really does have feelings for her, nayeon doesn’t know if she can return them.

and it absolutely sucks because mina has done something incredibly selfless for her and nayeon wants to make it up to her. but nayeon doesn’t know how she’s going to act now that she knows the other girl may just have feelings for her. feelings that she doesn’t reciprocate.

it was much easier with admirers because usually nayeon doesn’t have any connection with them, and after the rejection, nayeon would most likely never see them again. however, in mina’s case, they share class together. she’ll see her every day. how is nayeon going tackle the awkwardness of knowing someone who’s saved your ass has feelings for you that you can’t return?

‘no,’ nayeon shakes her head. mina hasn’t told her straight up yet. and nayeon won’t know for sure unless it comes out mina’s own mouth. so until the girl does confirm nayeon’s assumption, maybe she’ll just act as she usually does and befriend the girl. or maybe,

(an even better idea comes into nayeon’s mind)

she’ll just do whatever she can to change mina’s mind about her. she’ll make herself become the most unattractive person to mina. she’ll make mina realize that nayeon isn’t at all crush worthy. eventually, mina won’t even be able to want to think of her more than as a friend...

yes that’s it. that’s exactly what nayeon’s going to do. best friend zone the girl and make her realize nayeon could never be more than a friend. nayeon will show mina the real nayeon and become the biggest turn off of the century.

this way, everything gets settled and no one gets hurt.

right?

“nayeon we have to prep now!” her coach reminds her from afar, bringing her attention back to reality. she looks around.

locker room, cheerleader uniforms. pompoms. oh right, they still have a game to cheer for. she bends down to double tie her shoe laces before calling her teammates together.

“alright girls! you know what to do. our soccer team has been practicing really hard and so have we. let’s boost each other’s energy and make this an easy win.”

nayeon switches on captain mode, like she does before every school game. the only thing she’ll focus on is the game, the team, the cheer. she won’t ever think of anything else until it’s all finished. after all, this is her job as the leader, the reason she was chosen unanimously as captain. her energy is what radiates to her teammates, and that same energy will radiate to the crowd and ultimately boost their team’s morale. that is how nayeon leads.

“jyp high on 3!”

“1”

“2”

“jyp high!!!”

\--

mina watches from her usual area at the back of the bleachers. it’s empty compared to the crowded areas due to it being so far away. but mina finds it perfectly fine. being part of the huge crowd was frankly, suffocating and she has 20/20 vision allowing her see everything clearly from where she’s situated.

like the moment the cheerleaders made their entrance on the field, led by im nayeon herself. the crowd went wild and so did mina’s heart. it seemed to beat faster and much louder now after her realization earlier today. sure she came to support her best friends as well, and they looked as beautiful as always. but nayeon captivated her with every movement she made, every cheer she chanted. just looking at nayeon felt right.

it’s a pretty close game now. it’s the second half and there’s only 5 minutes left on the clock. jyp high and the opposing team yg high are tied 2-2, and everybody’s on the edge of their seat, including mina. after a successful block by jyp’s best goalie, jihyo, the ball unfortunately landed back in the opposing team’s side and although jyp team’s defense is at the top of their game, one wrong move could allow the opposing team to get the advantage they need to win.

mina finds herself feeling exhausted just looking at both teams. the players are panting, sweating bullets, and how they managed to keep running across the field for the past hour or so is beyond mina. in fact she could feel the tiredness radiating off of their school’s team.

“cheer up baby don’t give up!!!”

mina’s heart skips at the sound. it’s nayeon leading her team into another one of their chants. mina watches in absolute awe as nayeon’s enthusiastic cheer is soon followed by her fellow teammates. and soon enough jyp’s side of the bleachers are chanting along. it’s almost deafening how loud they are. suddenly, the girls team of jyp high have this determined look on their face and the exhaustion is completely wiped off their faces.

the next thing mina knows, jeongyeon, the team’s captain takes the ball from the opponent with crazy stealth, passes it to purple haired teammate named dahyun, who runs past opponents with super speed. she kicks it to another teammate, a super tall girl named tzuyu and with one powerful kick she sends the ball flying. at that exact moment everybody’s got their fingers crossed, breaths held in, and the nerves are on max.

the opposing goalie jumps.

but the ball curves and it narrowly avoids the goalies touch, heading straight into the goal.

for a second, it’s completely quiet.

then the crowd erupts into a roaring noise and everybody’s jumping up and down in happiness. mina breathes one sigh of relief.

what a great game.

mina’s eyes travel to nayeon. she isn’t jumping up in joy like everyone around her is. instead, mina sees her placing a hand on her chest with a proud smile on her face. it amazes mina how one cheer from nayeon caused a ripple effect that ultimately brought victory for jyp high. it was as if nayeon was a conductor and the crowd was her orchestra. her energy radiated so easily and so naturally.

it was nothing short of incredible. nayeon is truly amazing.

suddenly though, nayeon looks up and their eyes meet. nayeon gives her the brightest smile mina has ever seen and it stops the world around her. at that moment, her crush was further confirmed.

needless to say, the girls’ soccer team weren’t the only ones that won tonight.

\--

“nice one nabongs.” nayeon feels her hair being ruffled and she immediately turns around to shoot the culprit a glare.

“don’t mess up my hair jeongyeon!”

“if anything, i fixed it.” the short haired blonde shrugs with a teasing smile.

“nayeon unnie!!!” they both turn to the voice and nayeon can’t help but smile at energetic dahyun, followed by jihyo and tzuyu.

“the cheerleaders were amazing as usual!” dahyun exclaims. “that last set of cheers really had us going!”

“what about me dahyunnie?” momo this time, joins the group followed bynher other half, sana.

“oh-uhh… you were really really awesome too unnie. i loved the solo dance that you did. i mean- not that i was staring or anything, you know me. focused on the game and everything…” dahyun rambles on pathetically and the group lets out a collective eye roll, except momo, who’s looking at dahyun like she’s holding the cure for cancer.

on the other side, sana nudges a serious looking tzuyu on her side.

“that was a really nice shot tzuyu. as expected from our ace.” sana winks, latching on to the tall girl’s arm.

“thank you.” tzuyu replies coolly without even looking at the ginger, although there’s an obvious pink on her cheeks. “i thought of you when i made that shot.”

“aww!” sana gushes. “you thought of me?”

“yes, unnie. i imagined you were the ball.”

nayeon snorts as she watches the scene unfold in her eyes.

“20 bucks says, dahyun and momo will be a thing by the end of the month.” jeongyeon says from beside her.

“i say satzu for the win.” nayeon observes. “just like how i guessed jihyo and daniel made up.” nayeon points out, gesturing to the bleachers where jihyo’s already been engulfed in an embrace by her ever-supportive boyfriend daniel. the two had gotten into some argument a few days ago and jeongyeon and nayeon had bet when they’d get back together. while jeongyeon bet after the week, nayeon bet less than a week.

“now you owe me ice cream, yoo.” nayeon demands, smirking.

“ugh, fine.” jeongyeon groans, but her eyes widen when she looks past nayeon. “speaking of making up,”

nayeon turns around to find a familiar blonde descending down the bleacher chairs, approaching her. her heart rate speeds up in panic.

“quick! jeongyeon tell me something you hate about me!”

“wha--”

“hurry up!”

“hugging me when you’re all sweaty.” jeongyeon replies.

"nice." nayeon nods. she doesn’t think twice when she runs up to an unsuspecting blonde and wraps her in a tight and _sweaty_ , embrace. this will be such a turn off for her. the invasion of personal space, the intimacy, the _sweat._

she waits a few seconds before feeling herself being gently pushed away. she smiles to herself. her plan is already off to a good start.

mina looks like she’s just seen a ghost.

“i’m so sorry!” she apologizes, feigning innocence. “i’m just really glad you came!”

“of-of course.” mina stutters and nayeon attempts embracing the girl one more time but mina is quick to back away.

‘it seems mina doesn’t like sweaty hugs either…’ inwardly, nayeon smiles to herself.

“you did really well.” mina says, avoiding eye contact as usual. nayeon finds it cute but she realizes she’s going to have to get mina to look at her in the eyes normally like any pair of friends that _don't_ have feelings for each other.

“what did i say about looking me in the eyes?” she asks, making sure to add an emphasized ‘older sister’ tone.

“sorry.” mina mutters, struggling to bring up her brown orbs to meet nayeon’s own. “you're a great captain."

“well thank you. it was a team effort.” nayeon smiles gently. then she remembers if she’s going to best friend zone mina, she has to talk to the blonde the way she talks to jeongyeon right?

“in all honesty though, they really did win because of me.” she adds, laughing haughtily.

mina chuckles, and nayeon can sense the other girl beginning to loosen up slightly. “you bet.”

nayeon smiles widely. this is working out better than she had thought.

\--

(later that night, mina can’t bring herself to sleep when all she can think about is nayeon, her cheer, her smile, her eyes…

…and her embrace.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nayeon is crybaby, mina is panicked baby. they both discover something o.o.
> 
> what do you guys think of nayeon's plan? will it work? how will this all go down?
> 
> comment down below and let me know what you think! whether it's violent reactions, constructive criticisms, i'll take em all. i sincerely hope you enjoyed
> 
> ~sushimonnie out


	4. the socializing tutor, the eye contact master

mina dozes off in almost all her classes. she has not slept a wink since last night and no amount of coffee can keep her up. surprisingly she’s able to pass through the first half of class without literally passing out.

thankfully, during lunch break, her best friends share the same need to sleep after expressing their exhaustion from last night’s game. for a good hour, mina’s able to comfortably rest her eyes thanks to sana and momo. mina can easily say now that naps are indeed the best on the rooftop when it’s spent being cuddled by your two equally soft best friends, and also if it's with a super soft pink blanket, courtesy of momo.

(and just 5 minutes before the bell, the three are woken up by the loud grumble of momo’s hungry stomach. who needs an alarm when you have a hungry tummy right?)

“guys, don’t forget to eat okay?” sana groggily reminds, stretching her limbs in the middle of a yawn. mina yawns shortly after. momo’s in the middle of opening her obento when she too, yawns.

“you too satang.” mina responds finally getting up. “you guys have practice so you need to eat.”

“we will minaring.” the two reply in sync.

the tired trio head downstairs exchanging yawns and complaints of sleepiness. eventually they part ways and mina makes her way to her last class of the day. knowing just how boring it’s probably going to be, mina figures she might as well sleep for the remainder of day. it’s a solid plan and mina is determined to make up on the precious hours she’s lost.

that is however, until there’s an arm that links around hers. the scent of her perfume is faint but it’s intoxicating and the warmth she emanates is enough to make mina feel light headed. she knows who it is, even without looking. when she looks to her side, mina’s droopy eyes still widen. because how can anyone look this cute?

“tired?” nayeon asks with an adorable pout. “have some of my drink.” she offers her strawberry milk and despite mina shaking her head profusely, the brunette doesn’t take no for an answer. eventually, mina’s forced to take a sip out of the beverage.

and mina was never a fan of strawberries. but this is probably the best thing she’s ever tasted.

“thank you.” mina says softly.

“no problem! anything for my friend!” nayeon exclaims.

‘friend…?’ mina blushes. ‘are they really friends now?’

the thought of being friends with nayeon sets a bloom of happiness in mina’s chest.

“and guess what? we already kissed too~” nayeon adds in a singsong manner.

mina’s eyes widen once more and the earlier blush deepens.

“we-we did?” her hands unconsciously travel to her lips.

nayeon unlatches herself, (and mina notices how it feels empty when she leaves her side) runs off to the door, sending a teasing smile to the blonde.

“well indirectly of course! friends do it all the time!” nayeon teases.

mina stops in her tracks. sure she’s shared drinks with sana and momo plenty of times. but she’s never mulled it over as much as now. she never even thought of them as indirect kisses. but now, the very thought of having shared a drink with im nayeon sends electric tingles from her lips down to every other part of her body.

the taste of strawberries…

“don’t mind her, she had too much sweets today. she’s annoying like that.”

mina doesn’t even realize that jeongyeon had been walking along with them this whole time.

“o-okay” mina responds lamely, finally entering the classroom after jeongyeon. immediately, the first thing mina sees is nayeon smiling at her before winking and mina has to look away quickly before she falls into another trance.

mina knows for a fact that sleep won’t be an option now that nayeon has literally just woken up all her senses.

\--

mina has already gathered her belongings, ready to make a dash out of the classroom before crossing paths with nayeon. sure they’re ‘friends’ but mina’s heart can only take so much. with the way nayeon’s acting, mina thinks she may end up having a serious palpitations.

“wait mina!” the loudness in nayeon’s voice causes multiple heads to turn in the hallway and if there’s one thing that mina dislikes, it’s unneeded attention. she has to lower her head to prevent any further embarrassment but again, nayeon latches herself unto mina’s arm earning even more stares. it doesn’t help that the halls are super crowded.

“uh hi, nayeon.” mina mumbles.

“where you goin’?” nayeon asks.

“um… detention.”

“oh good! same direction! we’ll go together.”

“oh okay…”

…

“so mina,” nayeon starts. “what’s your favorite color?”

“red.” mina quickly answers.

there’s a few seconds of awkward silence.

“this is the part where you ask me what mine is.” nayeon reminds.

embarrassed, mina finds herself stammering. “wh-what’s your favorite co-color nayeon?”

“purple.”

“okay…” mina responds. her mind is absolutely blank at the moment because sadly she was not blessed with social skills. small talk was far from being a forte.

nayeon sighs and stops in her steps which in turn stops mina as well. “you know what,” she begins. “you have to stop being so tense all the time.”

‘i don’t know if that’s possible around you.’ mina thinks to herself.

suddenly, mina feels two firm grips on her shoulders positioning her to look at nayeon face to face. fortunately, they’ve reached one of the more deserted halls so there aren’t any spectators.

mina has to look past nayeon because they’re probably less than a foot apart and it’s the closest she’s ever been to the brunette.

“my face isn’t on the wall, mina.” nayeon states.

the blonde gulps.

“i’m not very good with eye contact.” mina admits. although by now, nayeon probably already knows that.

“it seems so.” nayeon confirms. “hmm…”

from the corner of mina’s eyes, she can see nayeon deep in thought.

“what about we work on that?” she suggests. “and not just so you can look at me in the eyes, but for everyone else you meet. a socializing tutor and an eye contact master, if you will.”

“how do i do that?” mina’s eyes dart to nayeon for a millisecond before darting back to the wall behind the brunette.

“staring game!” nayeon enthusiastically replies. “our goal will be that you can look me in the eyes without looking away, for 20 seconds”

mina’s mind goes haywire.

“20 seconds?” she repeats.

nayeon nods. “20 seconds. but we’ll take baby steps of course and slowly increase it until we reach 20.”

mina doesn’t know what think of this idea. perhaps it’ll be the death of her.

“how often are we going to do this?” mina manages to ask.

“as often as we can, i guess!” nayeon exclaims. it almost seems like she’s making this up as she goes. “let’s start with 5.” she suggests.

uneasiness settles in mina’s stomach. the nerves are already beginning to pile on her shoulders. how can the simple thought of even looking nayeon in the eyes spark such uncontrollable feelings? how is this even going to be possible without this unexplainable anxiety that weighs on mina? it doesn’t help that her heart is beating deafeningly loud. if she feels this way and she hasn’t even looked at nayeon yet, how much worse would it be once she did?

no this isn’t possible. they’re too close. way too close. maybe if nayeon was meters away, mina would’ve been able to manage. just like last night when she saw the brunette on the field. but now, the distance has been reduced by tenfold. maybe if there was something loud to distract mina so that she wouldn’t hear her own pounding heart. just like the roaring noise from yesterday’s crowd. but now, that crowd has been reduced to just the two of them and it’s completely silent and empty where they are. there isn’t any room for distractions.

“just pretend i’m sana or momo.” nayeon says, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. mina has to glance at nayeon just to try. but it doesn’t work.

all she sees is im nayeon.

im nayeon.

im nayeon.

and mina’s not sure if she’s even going to survive this. what if she faints? what if her legs get all weak? or worse, what if she gets a nosebleed?

suddenly however, she feels two warm hands cup her cheeks and mina’s mind stops working just like that. with the way nayeon’s gently squeezing her cheeks, mina has no choice but to look at her.

nayeon had always been drop dead gorgeous. but seeing her this close has mina thinking there’s absolutely no one in the world that could even match up to the brunette before her. just looking at nayeon made her feel things.

but it’s far from what she had been expecting. mina doesn’t feel like she’s going to faint, or have a nosebleed. in fact, it’s more satisfying than what she had dreaded. it’s like fitting the last piece of a puzzle. or even better, placing the last piece of a lego set. it feels as if the mere sight of the girl is slowly making everything fall into place.

just like yesterday, it feels just right.

“five…” nayeon starts to count down.

she’s got really brown eyes.

“four…”

they twinkle.

“three…”

they’re clear, filled with nothing but pure intentions.

“two…”

mina sees the whole world in them.

“one.”

nayeon lets go of mina’s face. the warmth is quickly replaced by an empty cold and mina has to shake herself off from the trance. she lets out an exhale.

“wasn’t too hard right?” nayeon asks, a gleam in her eyes. the blonde can only nod her head. she feels the heat in her cheeks take over again.

“you’re making great progress, mina,” nayeon compliments.

“…but maybe next time, you won’t hold in your breath.” she smirks.

mina watches speechlessly as nayeon bids her farewell before running off to practice like nothing has happened.

\--

jeongyeon hates skinship.

jeongyeon hates small talk.

jeongyeon hates any form of nayeon invading her personal space.

nayeon smiles to herself. she seemed to be making mina quite uncomfortable earlier when she had completely ignored all the girl’s personal boundaries and basically just invited herself into the introvert’s space. but hey, if nayeon’s going to best friend zone mina then she’s going to act the exact way she does around her best friend yoo jeongyeon.

maybe the eye contact thing was a bit impulsive on her part. she really did make it up on the spot. still, nayeon will make it work out somehow. plus, once mina gets used to how nayeon really acts, the blonde for sure will forget about crushing on her.

it was a good idea, nayeon thinks to herself. not only is she helping mina get over her fear of eye contact, she’s also helping the girl with her social skills. soon enough, maybe nayeon will turn mina into a social butterfly!

she’s arrived first on the field as always, responsibly securing the team’s practice area. within 5 minutes the team’s resident japanese duo arrive, greeting her with sleepy faces. nayeon tilts her head in concern. yesterday’s game must have drained them.

“you guys okay?” nayeon asks.

“never been better!” momo replies, although she looks like a zombie with the way she’s walking. sana on the other hand is clinging on to her best friend for dear life, resting her head on the blonde’s shoulder.

“we’re fine nayeonnie.” sana answers mid-yawn.

maybe they deserved a break. sure, competition is less than a week from now. but the girls have been practicing their asses off for the past few weeks daily. nayeon trusted in her team enough to know a beak was well needed.

“get some rest you two, practice will start in an hour, and we’ll just go through the routines a few times then end it there, okay?”

sana and momo’s eyes brighten up a hundred fold. immediately, momo retrieves a blanket from her bag and lays on the grass. nayeon chuckles in amusement. she figures the girl must have used it throughout the day to doze off comfortably. soon she collapses on the grass, sana following shortly after.

“gosh, you’re the best captain ever!” momo exclaims, and within a matter of minutes the duo fall into a much needed slumber.

nayeon sends out a group text regarding today’s practice and heads over to the detention room. and because, she had an hour, she didn’t have to run this time.

leisurely, nayeon walks into the detention room, banana milk in hand only to find the person she had bought it for is currently asleep too. for a moment, nayeon wonders if she’s the only one who isn’t even remotely tired. maybe there’s some type of sleeping spell that hasn’t hit her yet…

her eyes land on the strawberry milk atop of the desk and it makes nayeon feel warm. it’s a very sweet gesture no matter how many times she’s going to see it. (hopefully, it doesn’t stop when detention is over.)

as quietly as she can, nayeon takes the seat beside the sleeping blonde and rests her head on top of her arms, facing mina. she looks so peaceful. nayeon had never really noticed how attractive mina actually is until now. like _really_ attractive. it was as if god had taken his time to delicately carve every one of mina’s features.

there’s something about looking at mina that incites a calm feeling in nayeon. like coming home after a tired day. nayeon wouldn’t mind watching her sleep for a little longer. she could count the moles decorated on her face and even trace certain constellations.

at that moment though, the blonde stirs. her eyes flutter open and nayeon’s greets her with the softest smile she can muster. it’s adorable how mina gets all red and quickly distances herself away from nayeon.

“you should go back to sleep if you’re still sleepy.” nayeon tells her.

mina shakes her head. “i’m not sleepy anymore.”

“sure.” nayeon mutters sarcastically, because it’s pretty obvious in mina’s half lidded eyes that she needed sleep. she doesn’t say anything though. she observes as the girl places the straw into the carton and slides it onto nayeon’s desk. with a flattered expression, nayeon does the same.

they both sip on their drinks silently until mina surprisingly opens her mouth to start up the conversation, looking straight ahead.

“don’t you have practice?”

nayeon frowns and places her drink on her desk. she wonders if mina’s vocabulary is limited to those four words. for a really smart girl, nayeon would have expected more variety in her words.

“are you serious?” she asks in disbelief. “is that all you’re curious about?”

mina sheepishly sends a side glance before looking back down on the desk in front of her. “you don’t have to keep visiting me here when you could miss practice. i know you guys still have a competition soon.”

nayeon sighs. “i pushed back practice today. that means i have an hour with you.”

“oh.” nayeon doesn’t miss the shade of pink decorating the blonde’s cheeks.quickly she’s reminded of her plan to best friend zone the girl. the goal is for mina to stop being all bashful whenever nayeon’s around. so of course, nayeon has to find away to stop the girl from blushing like mad.

“so,” nayeon starts, purposely placing her feet up on the desk in a very unladylike manner in order to get comfortable. “let’s talk about something other than practice.”

nayeon smirks when she sees mina’s eyes trail over her legs. the blonde’s probably judging her right now like jeongyeon normally would... nayeon takes it a step closer to her plan.

“i’m not really good at small talk.” mina mutters.

…

“just say anything, mina.”

…

mina looks as if she’s searching the ends of her brain for something to ask. how could it be that hard to ask a simple question? nayeon doesn’t understand.

“okay!” nayeon intervenes, before mina can explode from overthinking. “what about we pretend we’ve known each other for a very long time? this way we can skip the awkward formalities.”

“how would that work?” mina asks.

“well for one,” nayeon starts. “you’d have face me when i talk, because i do take that to heart.” it’s a pretty straightforward statement, but she finds mina tense up as if she’s been caught redhanded. however, she twists her body to face nayeon.

oh good. she’s making eye contact, nayeon observes. mentally, she begins to count down.

5…

4…

3…

mina only makes it to 3. but it’s good progress considering nayeon didn’t have to hold her face in place like earlier today. she snorts at the memory of blonde’s cheeks all bunched up together in such an adorable manner. who could ever forget something so cute?

“good job!” nayeon compliments, patting mina’s head like she’s a little kid.

\--

“don’t you have anything to say?” nayeon asks suddenly. for the past 20 or so minutes probably, she’s been talking on and on about anything and everything. from her likes and dislikes, to childhood anecdotes, to her fair share of slow moments through out life. to be honest, nayeon could go on forever. talking is her forte. and something about being with mina makes her feel like she can tell the girl anything…

‘like a sister’ nayeon has to remind herself.

other than nods, soft reactions, and thoughtful responses, mina doesn’t really talk much. it isn’t like her conversations with jeongyeon when there’s almost always a silent competition for who gets to talk more, or who has the funnier story.

no, if their conversation was some type of race, nayeon would have already won but it’s because mina was intentionally losing.

“i’m sure you have way much more to say when you’re with your best friends.”

mina shakes her head and smiles fondly. “i like listening.”

for the rest of the hour, nayeon’s talkative self babbles on and on, and by now, mina probably knows most of her life story. but even if mina barely ever says anything, nayeon does pick up on some of the blonde’s mannerisms. like how she says “eh?” when she’s confused or surprised. or how tries to hide that cheeky gummy smile of hers whenever nayeon mentions something embarrassing about herself. or how nayeon feels as if all of the blonde’s attention is solely on her when she feels the girl look at her face, only to look away whenever nayeon meets her eyes.

nayeon can’t help but smile. there’s already some sort of connection developing between them and it’s a huge step in best friend zoning mina. mina’s already doing so well. before nayeon knows it, mina’s going to see her the way she sees momo or sana and nothing more or less. just as she should.

and no one gets hurt.

“hey nayeon,” mina calls, snapping nayeon from her thoughts. she looks up to find mina staring outside the window. “look outside.”

nayeon curiously moves from her seat to the window ledge, leaning over to catch a better view. the sight makes nayeon laugh. it’s her team, gathered on the grass, all sleeping as if they were at home. located at the center is the samo duo that probably urged the rest of the team to lie down as well. what makes it more amusing is that surrounding them were all these sports teams getting fit, doing drills, and being active in general. yet, there they were, sleeping without a care in the world.

“i don’t own them.” she jokes, an endearing grin stretching across nayeon’s face as she pulls out her phone to take a couple pictures. she even takes a selfie with them as the background (although it isn’t quite clear). so while adjusting herself for the best possible angle, she catches mina in the frame.

the blonde is pretty intrigued by the sight before them with a small smile on her lips. and she looks really _really_ pretty.

nayeon takes the photo.

she’s busy looking at the pictures she’s just taken when mina reminds her of practice.

“don’t you have practice to go to now?”

nayeon raises a brow. her usual four word question has evolved into eight words. 

“yeah, i should probably go down now before they sleep through the whole practice.”

mina nods, quietly watching as nayeon starts to make her way out.

“aren’t you going to wish me luck, mina?” nayeon teases, stopping at the doorway just before she leaves.

the blonde gets a little flustered but she’s able to speak with ease.

“good luck, nayeon.”

and with that, nayeon takes her leave. ‘good mood’ is plastered all over her face, in the way she walks with a happy step, and the way she hums the rest of the way to the field.

it’s actually really easy befriending mina and nayeon really wouldn’t mind if mina was a constant in her life. if anything, she’d very much like it. she’s beginning to care more for the girl like she cares for jeongyeon. only mina’s much gentler. much more soft spoken. needless to say, the plan is going awfully well and weirdly enough, nayeon doesn’t think it’ll be any difficult calling mina a best friend any time soon.

\------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone's really sleepy in this chapter because i was really sleepy when i wrote it lolol, if i'm not getting any sleep, atleast they are!
> 
> anyway, i have a quiz... mina is a quiet and awkward banana milk lover, while nayeon is a talkative and friendly strawberry milk lover. together they make eye contact and one of them goes heart eyes. which one of them is it?
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this chapter! as always let me know what you think, i'll take anything... what do you think will happen next? look forward to it ;P


	5. i eat when i’m upset, ice cream for when i’m stressed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a double update because i was supposed to post chapter a day but i forgot to hehe

it’s funny how mina can’t recall a single thing from any of her classes today. but if she were told to give a list of nayeon’s favorites she’d be able to name all of them. 

nayeon’s favorite color? purple. 

nayeon’s favorite hobby? singing. mina’s never heard it but she’s sure nayeon’s voice is angelic. 

and nayeon’s favorite ice cream flavor? strawberry. that was a no brainer. nayeon craved it whenever she felt stressed too apparently...

these were only a _few_ of what mina learned. 

if mina were told to recount one of nayeon’s childhood experiences, she would be able to recite every detail. like that one time nayeon apparently had gotten into an accident when she was younger, causing a slight weakness of her left leg. at first mina couldn’t believe the story, especially since nayeon spoke so humorously about it. but the brunette willingly showed off a scar on her left leg and mina had no reason to think otherwise. it did however, spark concern in mina that nayeon often practiced diligently with that same left leg weakness. 

“obviously there’s no reason to worry about my leg.” nayeon had assured when mina asked if she was fine with all the work cheerleading had them do. 

“if you didn’t notice it earlier, that means it’s not something to notice now.” she added, and mina couldn’t argue with that. 

then there was also the random facts mina picked up from nayeon’s stories. 

like how the girl hates holding umbrellas. 

or how the girl easily cries. in fact, mina has seen it firsthand already. 

or how the girl could probably talk for hours and make the most boring topic sound interesting. mina would listen to everything still. 

honestly, mina could go on and on. she could list everything she finds intriguing about nayeon and it would probably take her the whole day and more, because she’s finding all of nayeon intriguing. 

“i’m sure you have way much more to say when you’re with your best friends.” there was a pout on nayeon’s lips when she said it. it had mina go blank for a second. 

mina thinks of her conversations with sana and momo. out of the three of them, mina had always been the listener they needed, only ever putting a couple sentences here and there whenever it was needed or whenever mina got a little too passionate about her games. 

mina doesn’t admit it, but she really doesn’t want nayeon to stop talking. she doesn’t want to stop learning new things about the brunette. she doesn’t want to stop listening to her voice, that’s just so full of emotion and passion. 

so as her reply, mina shakes her head fondly. “i like listening.”

‘to you.’ 

mina leaves that part out. 

now, observing from the classroom window, mina watches as nayeon positions herself in weird angles just so she can take pictures of every member sleeping on the team. the blonde shakes her head with a grin, smiling even wider when she sees nayeon giggle at a picture she’s taken. oh that’s right, nayeon is super childish too. 

eventually, nayeon does wake her team members up and within the span of ten minutes they have already snapped themselves into practice mode, it’s amazing really. they’re already doing drills and stretches like they hadn’t just been snoozing on the field earlier.

what mina finds more amazing however, is how childish nayeon turns into charismatic captain nayeon with a snap of the finger and it’s probably one of the most attractive things mina’s ever witnessed. 

(even when detention eventually ends, mina finds herself lingering in the classroom for just a few minutes more.)

\--

“alright girls! gather round!” nayeon calls. immediately the cheerleaders start surrounding her in their usual after-practice circle. the sun has just begun setting and nayeon’s seeing her members in a different light. literally and figuratively. since recently, they’ve only ended practice by the time the moon sufficiently made her way into the sky and by then, the field lights would have already been lit up. 

but also, these girls have shown their incredible capacity to hold themselves as jyp high’s renowned cheerleading team. despite today being a chill practice, nayeon had seen just how much effort they put in, reminding her time and time again just how lucky she is to be leading such a team. 

they aren’t sweating as much and neither are they breathing as hard. they’re all smiling and joking around like usual but nayeon sees that same determination in their eyes once she starts their team chant. a break surely was deserved. she knows for sure, she has no reason to doubt them.

“three more days from now, let’s take the win!” she exclaims and they raise their hands together in an eruption of cheers. 

minutes after, nayeon watches as the girls bid their goodbyes and one by one go home. beside her, someone speaks. 

“you lead them well.”

the voice doesn’t even remotely come close to the soft voice of the person that comes to mind. but nayeon sees the blonde anyway and she has to shut her eyes and blink them several times to make sure she isn’t seeing things. 

it’s just coach sunmi. 

“oh— coach!” she exclaims and watches as the older woman raises her brow. 

“what’s wrong? you look like you just saw a ghost.”

‘i just saw mina.’ nayeon thinks to herself. 

“no... no! i was just stuck in my thoughts... you kind of caught me off guard there.” she tries to play off. 

“well okay...” sunmi nods, seemingly unconvinced. “but like i said. you’re a great captain and you carry this team well. even with the short practice you all still prove that the jyp team is one of the best. i’m proud of you.”

compliments are rare when they come from coach. usually, nayeon would be elated, eyes wide, all jumpy with a smile stretched across her face. right now though, she can’t seem to fully appreciate coach sunmi’s compliment because nayeon is thinking of a certain blonde saying it instead. 

nayeon remembers how sincere mina had sounded when she uttered the words. she also remembers how much joy she felt hearing them. thinking about it now still gives her a warm feeling. 

she smiles to herself. did she ever properly thank the blonde?

“that means a lot. thank you.” nayeon says, softly. 

when she looks up however, coach sunmi is looking at her with a tilt of her head and furrowed eyebrows. nayeon tenses up. 

“thank you so much, coach! you don’t know how much i appreciate it!” she quickly exclaims, bowing her head 90 degrees. her actions quickly earn a laugh from the coach and nayeon feels a pat on her shoulder. 

“you don’t have to say it twice.” she chuckles. “i think maybe you need some rest now, you should go home, the girls have left already.”

nayeon nods, embarrassed, with a bite of her bottom lip. “yes, coach.”

long after coach has left nayeon remains on the field. perhaps she really does need rest. the lack of sleep is probably the cause of her seeing things. maybe she’s thinking too much. 

but then nayeon finally makes up her mind. she may need sleep but at the moment, she needs ice cream more. 

she pulls out her phone to dial her best friend. 

“what do you want?” jeongyeon answers. except it sounds weirdly realistic. as if jeongyeon was talking to her in person. nayeon instinctively checks her body temp to see if she’s sick. first she’s seeing things, now she’s hearing them too. 

“i need ice cream.” nayeon says, voice tinged with desperation. 

“so?” again, jeongyeon sounds so real and it’s really beginning to mess with nayeon’s head because there’s no one in front of her. 

“ _so_?” nayeon repeats. “let’s go get ice cream.” she whines. “treat me to some ice cream!”

suddenly the line drops and nayeon gasps. she is more than offended. 

“i’m gonna kill that ostrich.” she fumes. 

“excuse me?” she hears from behind her. 

it’s jeongyeon, along with the soccer gang, dahyun, jihyo, and tzuyu. nayeon sighs in relief realizing she wasn’t hearing things. but then she gasps in disbelief. jeongyeon had been right behind her all this time.

“you know, if you were behind me all this time, you shouldn’t have answered the phone and just came up to me.” nayeon crosses her arms. “i thought i was losing my mind for a sec.”

“jeongyeon unnie was trying to scare you.” jihyo tells her, earning a glare from the tall short haired blonde. 

nayeon eyes her best friend. 

“actually, we just ended practice and we saw you standing alone here emoting like you’re in some movie—”

“you should be an actress unnie!” dahyun suggests randomly, smiling extra wide. “for a moment, i actually thought you were seriously stressed.”

“i think she’s feeling the scenery too much. it’s making her reminisce. let her be, guys.” jihyo adds with a teasing grin. 

“i’d throw up if i ever see nayeon on any screen.” jeongyeon gags. 

nayeon scoffs. here she was actually stressing herself out and her friends are making fun of her because they think she’s being overdramatic. 

“i hate you guys.” she mutters. 

“well okay...” jeongyeon shrugs. “we were just about to get ice cream. guess you don’t want to join us then.”

“what?! the ice cream was my idea!”

“come on guys. nayeon hates us, she wouldn’t want to get ice cream with us.”

suddenly, the soccer gang is in on teasing nayeon as they all start to make a run for it, knowing nayeon would never be able to keep up. 10 seconds in and nayeon’s already panting like she’s running a marathon. she curses their soccer training for making them lightning fast runners. 

(any bystander on the field would’ve mistaken them for overgrown children.)

“i’ll get you guys! mark *pant* my *pant* words! *pant*” 

in her struggle, nayeon loses her footing and trips over herself causing herself to fall on her ass. she groans, she’s already having a hard time catching her breath, now she’s embarrassed herself and her elbow stings too. but all she hears are evil laughs from afar. she swears she’s being bullied right now and she could feel her tears start to well up. 

“ugh unnie. don’t be such a crybaby. it’s so not cute.” it’s tzuyu finally speaking up this time. nayeon looks up to find the tall girl lending a hand and at that moment, nayeon knew that tzuyu would always be her favorite dongsaeng. because despite the cold and quiet front she always wore, she always tended to nayeon whenever she was in need. 

“chewieee~” nayein whines, trying her best to sound as cute as possible. “your fave unnie’s in a lot of pain. gimme piggyback wide pweaasee.”

tzuyu looks absolutely disgusted. 

but nayeon smiles even wider, because tzuyu always gives in to her cuteness anyway. eventually, nayeon finds herself securing her arms around her dongsaeng’s neck, laughing in triumph. 

“you’ve always been my favorite, tzuyu-ah.” nayeon gushes. 

“okay unnie. this is equal to 3 scoops of cookie dough ice cream by the way, thank you in advance.”

sure tzuyu always gave in to her nayeon unnie...

...but she always needed something in return as well.

\--

“don’t wanna.” mina says. 

“but mina,” sana whines in the phone. “this will be the first time in weeks since we got to hang out.”

“yeah mina, we ended practice early, can’t we atleast spend it with you and ice cream?” momo adds childishly. mina can hear the pout on her face when she speaks. 

“i can’t, i have house chores.”

“this is a video call, i can see the computer screen shining in your face.” sana replies, unconvinced. 

she’s on minecraft, but hey, a virtual house still counts right? she still has to furnish a couple of the rooms she’s added in her mansion. 

“ughhh, satang, i’m really in the zone.”

“atleast just for an hour please!” sana pleads. “we’ll treat you.”

“we will?” momo’s confused voice makes mina chuckle. “mina, i’m sorry but i’ve spent too much on food these days, i can only afford to buy you one scoop. but please come join us. ask sana to buy you whatever you want.”

“don’t push it momo...”

mina tears her eyes away from her computer and focuses on the two bestfriends on her phone screen. they’re looking at her with puppy dog eyes now. she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss them too. but she’s already so comfortable at home she doesn’t want to go out for long. 

“fine, i’ll go.” mina says and the two best friends notably jump in excitement. “but we’re buying to-go, and we can just hang out here at my house.”

“deal!” sana exclaims. 

“alright! i’ll pick both of you up in 15. get ready!”

“okay.” mina smiles, and the three exchange their goodbyes before the video call ends. 

‘hmm, 15 minutes to get ready...’ mina thinks to herself. 

she spends the next 10 minutes leveling up one of her games and 5 minutes to look for a comfortable oversized hoodie and jeans. 

soon enough, momo arrives in her car, sana at the front seat.

“hi mitang!” sana greets ever so brightly. her smile could literally match the sun. 

“hewwo mina.” momo is a calmer presence. like the moon, to sana’s sun. but naturally adorable as usual. 

it’s been a while since they have actually hung out outside of school due to the girls’ late practices. mina never really thought much of it because she always knew they’d see each other anyway. however, considering this is the first time they’ve hung out in weeks, mina feels warm at the sight of two. 

“i’ve missed you guys.” she finally admits. 

...

“umm, why’d you guys bring your school uniforms?” mina asks as soon as she enters the car and she sees said clothes neatly hanging on one of the car’s handles. then her eyes trail down to duffel bags. surely they didn’t have practice right now. 

“you invited us to your house.” momo smiles cheekily. 

“to hang out.” mina reiterates. 

“but you never said for how long.” sana adds in a sing song manner. 

“usually ‘hang out’ doesn’t mean sleep over, sana.” mina crosses her arms.

“c’mon mina, we’re getting ice cream and staying at your place! we might as well go all-in and stay the night too.”

mina rolls her eyes. leave it to her best friends to invite themselves for a sleepover. 

“i already prepared old movies for us to watch.” sana says excitedly. 

“sana, it’s a school night, we’re not supposed to be staying up that late.” 

“and i brought my switch! so we can play animal crossing!” momo chimes in. 

suddenly, mina’s expression brightens up. honestly that’s all it takes to change her mind. “oh you did?” 

momo nods excitedly. “all in the bag.”

“wow, so you say ‘no’ to my old movies but change your mind when momo mentions her switch. maybe you guys should just sleepover without me...” sana sighs dramatically, earning an eye roll from both mina and momo. 

“sana, we have the whole night to do both.” mina replies with a teasing smile. 

“we’re going _‘all-in’_ aren’t we?”

\--

nayeon smiles at the sight of the words ‘twice cream parlor’ on the entrance door. just the sight of it always did well in lifting burdens off of nayeon's chest.

“thank you, nayeon unnie!”

“thanks.”

“thank you nabongs.”

“thank you grandma!!!”

the sudden ‘thank you’s from her friends catch nayeon off guard. for a moment she has to pause and think about what she’s done in the past 15 minutes for them to say that. other than singing along to all her favorite songs in jeongyeon’s car the whole ride through, nothing else has happened. 

maybe, they’re thanking her for blessing their ears. it’s good they’re finally recognizing her talent and appreciating it now...

but then she remembers how jeongyeon had blatantly told her that she’d kick her out of the car if she sang another justin bieber song, and nayeon realizes it’s probably not. 

“what are you guys thanking me for?” nayeon asks, now utterly confused. 

“you said you were treating us.” 

“what, i never said such thing—

“tzuyu said you were going to buy her 3 scoops of cookie dough ice cream.” 

“but i never said i’d pay for all of you.” nayeon argues back. 

“hey, i drove!” jeongyeon chimes in. 

“yeah and you also laughed at me when i tumbled down.” nayeon counters. 

“haha that’s funny! ‘tumbled’! because you’re a cheerleader.” 

(silence. complete silence.)

everyone turns to dahyun this time, shaking their head in disapproval.

“what? wasn’t it funny to you tzuyu?”

but tzuyu looks at her dead in the eyes. “do you see me laughing?”

“anyways!” jihyo speaks up this time, redirecting the subject. “i believe it is your responsibility as the oldest in the group to pay for your dear dongsaengs.”

nayeon furrows her brows in shock. “what?! if i do recall properly, you were laughing at me too park jihyo. why would i buy ice cream for a bunch of bullies?”

“because this bully has also ‘helped’ you with all your math homework. and by ‘helped’ i mean do it all myself while you cheer me on.” 

nayeon gulps. why is jihyo suddenly mentioning this?

“oh! and don’t forget you borrow all my notes in class!” jeongyeon jumps in. 

“also unnie! remember all the times you cried and you forced me to do my eagle dance so you’d feel better?”

hit after hit, nayeon is rendered speechless. why are they ganging up on her like this? guilt tripping her to treat them to ice cream...

jeongyeon tugs the youngest girl’s arm. “quick tzuyu! you’re turn.” 

nayeon looks up at the tall girl, silently dreading the girl’s response. 

“i... am your **_favorite_** dongsaeng.”

...

nayeon finds herself in line for 3 scoops of birthday cake ice cream, 2 scoops of mango, 3 scoops of cookie dough, 2 scoops of rocky road, and 3 scoops of strawberry. even if she’s paying with card, her wallet is definitely going to feel lighter than it was before they came in. 

the cashier reads off the total, prompting nayeon to look up from her wallet. her eyes widen. if she remembers clearly, this is the cute dimpled girl jeongyeon’s been crushing on lately. son chaeyoung was it? she looks back to where her friends are seated and sees jeongyeon off doing some random prank on dahyun. 

she smirks. 

she looks to the side and sees no one behind her in line. 

nayeon starts up a conversation. “you go to our jyp high don’t you?”

“oh! you’re the cheer captain, im nayeon!” the girl exclaims in realization and nayeon has to hold in the proud grin on her face. 

“yep that would be me, you’re the art club president aren’t you? son chaeyoung is it?” nayeon replies, remembering this detail from all the times jeongyeon couldn’t stop talking about the cute dimpled girl that’s now standing in front of her. 

“uh-huh.” she affirms and nayeon wants to pinch her cheeks. even the way she talks is adorable. 

“nice to meet you, chaeyoungie! call me unnie!” even if they’ve just met, nayeon already takes the liberty in giving the girl a nickname as she offers a handshake. 

although a little surprised, chaeyoung laughs anyway. “nice to meet you, nayeon unnie.”

“hey listen, do you think you could help me bring these to my friends over there by the window, please?” nayeon asks. 

“oh for sure!” chaeyoung smiles and nayeon makes sure the younger girl is holding on to the bowl of mango ice cream. 

soon the two make their way to the window, and nayeon wishes she could just take a picture of jeongyeon’s reaction once she sees who’s holding her bowl of ice cream. nayeon holds in a laugh because her best friend looks absolutely star struck with the way her face turns red and her eyes sparkle. 

“oh my gosh! chaeyoungie?” dahyun widens her eyes. “since when have you been working here?” 

“just got the job actually.” chaeyoung replies sheepishly.

“hi chaeng.” tzuyu waves. 

“oh hey tzuyu!” 

“wait you guys know each other?” jihyo questions curiously. nayeon is quite surprised too. what a small world. she looks at jeongyeon this time, and the red on her cheeks is still very noticeable. 

“yeah, we have the same art class.” tzuyu responds. 

“this is son chaeyoung, guys!” dahyun introduces and soon the girls exchange greetings and names. 

“n-nice to-to meet you.” jeongyeon had stuttered, earning a snort from nayeon. 

“ooh there’s a line now, i have to get back to work, umm who ordered the cookie dough?” chaeyoung asks and tzuyu raises her hand like it’s roll call. 

“and the mango?”

“th-that would be me!” jeongyeon exclaims a little too loudly, it earns raised brows from the the group, except nayeon who’s enjoying this way too much. it’s just so funny watching the usual prankster get so flustered around the girl she likes. 

chaeyoung takes the bowl from the tray and places it in front of jeongyeon before she bids her goodbye and leaves. even then, jeongyeon is still blushing. 

“that mango ice cream sure is going to be tasty.” nayeon teases with a knowing smile. 

“shut up, nayeon.”

\--

“satang stop playing with my hood.” mina grunts, as the energetic girl in front of her pulls on the strings to make it look like it’s closing in on mina. 

“wahhh! so cute!” sana exclaims and mina rolls her eyes. “right momoring?” 

momo nods in agreement but all her attention is on the ice cream showcase and she looks like she’s having a terrible time trying to decide what she’ll get. 

“guys i can’t choose.” momo whines. “what are you getting?”

“chocolate ice cream.” sana chirps. 

“vanilla for me.” mina answers. it’s her usual. 

“aww mina, it looks like they’ve run out.” sana mutters, pointing at the empy tub where her favorite flavor is usually placed. 

the sight causes mina to frown in disappointment, she was really looking forward to eating some vanilla ice cream. she looks at the other choices but none of them look enticing. that is, until her eyes land on the strawberry ice cream. it immediately reminds her of a certain cheerleader. 

“i’ll take strawberry then.” she replies. 

“okay, then i’ll just get one of both of your flavors!” momo decides. 

when it’s their turn to place their orders, mina’s eyes widen to see a familiar face manning the cash register. she’s sure she’s seen the dimpled girl around school before. 

“s-so umm, two scoops of strawberry, two scoops of chocolate, and a bowl with two scoops of each.” the girl repeats with a stutter and mina notices how the girl’s cheeks have turned into a bright pink. immediately mina looks away shamefully, realizing she might have been staring too much. 

“that’s right. to-go please.” mina confirms with an apologetic gaze. but before she knows it there’s a tug on both of her arms and she finds her two best friends giving her puppy eyed faces. curiously, she tilts her head. 

“what is it now?”

“can we stay please?” sana asks. 

mina furrows her brows. “i thought we planned on—

she’s cut off by another tug, it’s momo this time, gesturing for the younger girl to look behind her. sighing, mina reluctantly follows the direction.

soon enough, her eyes land on two similarly wide eyes and...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i give you ot9!!! 
> 
> there isn’t much minayeon but here’s something a lil wholesome for some background :)) btw are their respective ice cream flavors accurate? HAHAHA
> 
> also i won’t be updating until after the 15th or around that time because of online school things and finals so please bear with me for now. i’ll still be writing, i promise!
> 
> as always, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, comment down below and tell me what you think, whether youre happy or confused or angry or whatever. i still appreciate it!


	6. selective obliviousness and thoughtless decisions

dahyun’s in the middle of animatedly telling a story about one of their funny practices when nayeon senses the girl next to her isn't listening as attentively as everyone else. but nayeon’s the only one to notice how the youngest of the gang has seemingly tensed up. seated just beside the tall brunette, nayeon could tell there there was something up. she just didn’t know what.

tzuyu has always been quiet and very reserved. the resident ‘idgaf’ friend in the group. that is until she does give a f*** and for a few seconds, she inhales sharply, back straightening with wide eyes resembling a dear in the headlights. there’s only one person that has been able to incite such a response from their stoic tzuyu. 

nayeon can’t help but break into a teasing grin when she follows tzuyu’s line of sight, immediately tracing exactly who she thought it would be. its minatozaki sana. the super touchy but super attractive and super charming cheerleader who tzuyu continuously denies having any interest in. 

except, that same girl is playing with another person’s hood. another girl. someone who nayeon can’t quite put a name to because she only sees her back. sana’s poking fun at the hood and it’s drawstrings with an extremely bright, albeit cheeky smile. if anyone else had seen them without knowing of sana’s natural touchiness, they could easily be mistaken as a couple. especially since the hooded girl is receiving sana’s affection just as naturally, as if they’ve been doing it for a long time. 

the more she looks at them, the more curious nayeon becomes. who is the hooded girl and just what is she to minatozaki sana?

just then, another girl comes into view after standing up straight from (what nayeon guesses is) looking at the ice cream showcase. it’s none other than hirai momo who looks as if she’s in a terrible dilemma. the other two girls immediately bring their attention to momo, and nayeon begins to put pieces together.

it’s either that hooded girl is sana’s girlfriend, (nayeon hopes it isn’t true, knowing just how tzuyu is for the japanese girl)

or most likely, that girl is a third of the japanese best friend trio, consisting of sana, momo, and...

mina. 

the girl who had been repeatedly in her thoughts earlier...

“tzuyu, why are you breathing so hard from your nose? your ice cream’s gonna melt.” jihyo suddenly questions, calling both the attention of nayeon and the mentioned maknae of the group. 

tzuyu starts coughing, choking up in her own spit, and probably also her own nerves. nayeon has never seen the girl so flustered. 

“nothing.” she mutters, digging a spoon murderously into her cookie dough ice cream. 

a few seconds later, their friends shrug it off and dahyun continues her story. 

“anyways...” dahyun begins storytelling once more and nayeon takes it as her cue to look back to the trio in line for ice cream. from her peripherals she can see tzuyu do the same. 

they’re at the cashier now and the hooded girl seems to be the one paying. nayeon doesn’t fail to notice how chaeyoung has on a light blush when they’re talking. 

“ha! i knew it!” dahyun’s sudden outburst is what calls nayeon and tzuyu’s attention again this time. “you guys weren’t even listening!”

“we were!” nayeon defends, blatantly lying. 

“oh yeah? what did i say after ‘anyways’?”

“something about soccer.” nayeon lamely replies. 

“wrong!” dahyun frowns. “in exact words i said ‘anyways, nayeon unnie and tzuyu are looking somewhere that isn’t at me meaning there must be something interesting they’re looking at or my story is boring’”

“your story was boring.” tzuyu hums nonchalantly. 

dahyun’s nostrils are flaring now. “it was not! you know what, i’m gonna turn around and see what exactly you guys have been staring at for the last few minutes and i’m gonna—

“oh look it’s momo and sana!” jihyo exclaims, waving. 

nayeon watches as dahyun turns to the sight quicker than lightning and then turns back around, her face already beet red as she bashfully sinks to her seat. all the while, the girl beside her has frozen on the spot for a few seconds. 

nayeon follows their sight once more, now seeing her fellow teammates waving at their group energetically. sana has on her ever charming smile but this time her eyes are literally sparkling and nayeon knows exactly who they’re for. beside the ginger, momo has on an adorable pout, probably because the object of her affection has cowardly hidden from her sight. 

“come join us!” jeongyeon calls out, gesturing their invite. 

nayeon watches as the two cheerleaders frown, then look at eachother, then turn around to tug on to the hooded girl’s arms, probably trying to convince the girl of something. 

soon enough, momo tugs her to turn around and nayeon doesn’t realize she’s held in a breath. 

it’s dramatically the slowest few seconds of nayeon’s life waiting anxiously to see the mysterious stranger’s face, either to disprove or confirm her previous assumption. 

it turns out,

she was right. 

mina’s eyes land automatically on hers and there’s a sort of triple jump set that her heart makes. nayeon almost forgets about their little staring plan but she catches herself. so she begins to count. 

‘5...’

‘4...’

‘3...’

‘2...’

‘1.’

nayeon quickly breaks off the contact first. letting out a breath she had held in.

she’s astonished that mina can already hold 5 seconds when earlier, she couldn’t even keep it up at 3. it’s great progress, nayeon thinks. maybe they can increase it to 10 now. proudly, nayeon breaks into her best smile, watching as the blonde smiles back shyly, blushing. 

—

nayeon purposely gets up so that sana can take the seat beside tzuyu, who right now, has turned on her unbothered mode which is actually quite convincing. sana on the other hand has no idea what space is and ignores all proximity boundaries with the tall girl. 

jeongyeon all the while, switches with dahyun, forcing the tomato red girl to sit at the outermost side with momo, slipping into the seat beside her. respectively now, they’re squeezed in the 3 person seat with momo at the edge, then dahyun, then jeongyeon, then jihyo. 

with only one person left standing, nayeon pulls mina’s hand, ignoring the tingles she feels at the touch, and tugs the girl to sit beside her. it’s bold and a little sudden. but it is something nayeon would do. 

she even encircles her arm around mina’s just as she would with jeongyeon, even if her best friend usually tried to flick her off or complain profusely until nayeon removed herself. mina doesn’t do either. she flinches but she doesn’t make an attempt to get rid of nayeon. 

sana and momo are quick to introduce mina to the group although tzuyu and dahyun are the only ones that aren’t too familar with her. jihyo knows mina through the tutoring club that apparently forced all the highest performing students to join. needless to say, nayeon isn’t surprised. 

after the exchanged greetings, the group automatically begins conversing as if they’ve all known each other for years. nayeon notices how her friends even try to incorporate mina into the conversation. and even though the blonde only responds in short statements or nods, they don’t pry, respecting her reserved nature. but seeing, mina conversing with her friends makes nayeon smile. she takes it as a step forward. 

a few minutes a later, the group falls into their own respective conversations, leaving nayeon to the silent mina. 

“are you cold?” nayeon jokes, giggling at the sight of how mina’s hood looks as if it’s swallowing her face. it was an adorable sight earlier but, it’s much cuter up close. 

“... a little hot, actually.”

nayeon giggles, “then you should probably take off your hood. it looks very tight.”

mina turns an embarrassed shade of red, trying to pull off her hood only to realize she has to untie the drawstrings first.

“i’ll do it.” nayeon volunteers, grazing mina’s fumbling fingers as she unties the draw strings and helps mina pull down her hoodie, finally revealing her blonde mane. 

“still hot?” nayeon asks, teasing. although maybe she shouldn’t have because it seemed to have made the girl turn a darker shade of red. 

“thanks.” mina mutters, taking a large spoonful of her dessert, as if to cool herself down.

...

“oh you ordered strawberry?” nayeon verbalizes. mina hums in response, her eyes focused on her own strawberry dessert sitting in front of her.

“i see you did too.” she replies softly, but nayeon furrows her brows, how did she ‘see’ if she’s been staring at her dessert for the past few minutes like it would disappear if she looked away. 

“you would’ve guessed it. is it your favorite too?” nayeon asks, hoping for the girl to continue their conversation while facing her just like they did earlier during detention. 

“no. i like vanilla.”

mina doesn’t spare her a glance, and nayeon starts to worry. her plan may have taken a step forward but now it is seemingly taking two steps backward and she can’t let it happen. she sighs, racking her brain for a way to get mina looking at her normally. 

“why’d you get strawberry then?” she asks. 

“they ran out of vanilla.” 

mina’s still not looking at her. and to make it worse, this conversation isn’t going anywhere. nayeon can feel mina being all nervous and distancing herself even if they’re practically squeezed beside each other. what’s going on weren’t they doing just fine?

‘think, nayeon, think.’

just then, her eyes land on mina’s spoonful of ice cream and a light bulb goes off in her head. it’s something she does all the time with her friends, not just with jeongyeon. a gesture that usually caused her friends to frown in annoyance but at the same time, defeat, because they couldn’t do anything about it... she wishes she would’ve thought of it sooner. 

with incredible speed, she catches mina’s wrist and stops the girl before the spoon arrives to her mouth. instead she pulls the blonde’s hand closer to herself and eats her ice cream right off of mina’s spoon. with that, nayeon succeeds in getting the blonde to finally look at her. 

but she also succeeds in catching the rest of the group’s attention as well. 

“nabongs. did you just steal mina’s strawberry ice cream when you have your own strawberry ice cream right in front of you?” jeongyeon asks in disbelief. the rest of her friends mirror the soccer captain’s exact expression. "talk about greedy."

nayeon feels immediate embarrassment from her impulsive action but she’s able throw on her cheeky facade, quickly shrugging it off. there’s a small smirk on her face when she feels mina’s eyes undoubtedly on her. 

“i do it all the time with you guys. mina’s now my friend too, she’ll come to learn that i love tasting everyone’s food.” 

“you better learn to hide your snacks mina. nayeon unnie can sense them from a mile away. they’ll disappear before you know it.” dahyun warns, earning a glare from the older girl. 

the gang laugh heartily at dahyun and nayeon’s short banter and when it eventually dies down, nayeon turns back to mina whose stare has not left her. 

nayeon lets out a snort. “so now you decide to look at me.”

“you sh-should’ve said something to call my attention.” mina falters slightly, her momentary trance finally broken. 

“you were too busy staring at your ice cream like it would grow legs and run off.” nayeon says. “i was trying so hard to keep a conversation with you, you know?”

“you were?” mina asks, cluelessly. 

nayeon rolls her eyes fondly. “oh mina... your people skills are still quite lacking huh.”

mina lowers her head a little bit. “i know.”

nayeon nudges her gently, taking a spoonful of her own ice cream. when mina looks up, nayeon brings the spoon up to the blonde’s mouth. 

“don’t worry, you have me to show you the ropes.” nayeon assures. “now eat this as a truce.”

the expression on the blonde’s face is a mixture of hesitance, embarrassment, and pure surprise. like she doesn’t know what to do next. 

“mina if you don’t take that, i will.” momo threatens out of nowhere, urging mina to open her mouth and eat nayeon’s form of a truce — a spoonful of her favorite ice cream. 

so what if she has the same flavor sitting on the table right in front of her.

“yo-you can have some of mine, momo unnie.” dahyun offers suddenly with a shy smile and it immediately turns momo’s pout into an expression that looks as if she’s one the lottery.

“hey, tzuyu. can i try your ice cream too?” nayeon hears from beside her. it’s sana this time, obviously asking to be fed by tzuyu only to be shot down with a short,

“no.”

but sana is persistent. “well maybe you’d like to try mine.” 

“no, thank you.” 

“i’ll try some of your chocolate ice cream sana.” nayeon butts in, turning to the ginger with batted eyelashes. she can feel tzuyu glaring daggers at her now and the short haired brunette makes sure to send a smirk to the tall maknae. 

“sure, nayeon!” sana smiles enthusiastically, cupping the brunettes jaw gently before feeding her a spoonful of the dessert. 

“that was really really tasty.” nayeon comments, observing how tzuyu’s nose flares up ever so slightly. 

when nayeon turns back to mina she hears the maknae suddenly speak. 

“i’ve had enough of my ice cream. so here.” 

nayeon doesn’t even need to to turn around to know she has triggered her favorite dongsaeng into offering sana a spoonful of her dessert. she smirks. nothing like a little jealousy to spark someone’s affection. 

she returns her gaze to the blonde beside her. mina still has an endearing shade of pink on her cheeks which nayeon figures is from all the attention she’s received from her friends. she can’t help but smile at the bashful blonde. 

“ugh what is this, a couple outing?” jeongyeon groans, bitterly. 

just when nayeon thought mina’s face couldn’t possibly get any redder, it does. by a hundredfold. at the same time though, nayeon feels a heat on her cheeks as well, prompting her to glare at her best friend. 

why would that ostrich mention such a word when they’re just friends?

and why does she feel insanely hot in this cold ice cream shop?

nayeon usually would have countered that with something witty. but for some reason it seems her mind has gone blank, no proper thought forming. the only word popping up in her mind is ‘couple’ and she subconsciously distances herself away from the blonde (which isn’t really much considering there’s 4 of them in a 3-seat sofa).

‘we’re just friends,’ nayeon repeats to herself. 

“jeongyeon if you want me to feed you ice cream just ask. don’t throw a tantrum.” jihyo responds, completely unbothered and it earns a collective giggle from the group. all at the expense of jeongyeon’s embarrassment. 

...

soon after, dahyun begins another one of her stories and this time 7 pairs of ears are listening instead of the initial 4. the navy blue haired girl is passionately telling her story about running away from the principal because of a ‘soccerball mishap’ and the gang is actually listening attentively. 

except that midway into dahyun’s adventure, nayeon suddenly shivers. 

‘is it just me?’ she silently wonders, looking around to see, none of the other girls seem to be feeling the same chill. at the same time though, no one else is dressed in practice shorts and a croptop except for her...

nayeon’s eyes slowly travel to the girl beside her, the blonde is clad in a hoodie and jeans, looking rather comfortable. come to think of it, mina looks as if she’s dressed for a chilly evening while nayeon is dressed for a hot afternoon. here they both are, in a cold ice cream shop and mina absolutely wins for being practical with her outfit. 

if it had been jeongyeon or jihyo or any one of nayeon’s close friends, she would’ve demanded a sweater right then and there. but none of them have sweaters on except mina and nayeon finds herself hesitating. 

but what is she hesitating for...?

no. she shouldn’t be hesitating. her plan is to friend zone the girl. she should be doing exactly what she would do if mina were jeongyeon or jihyo. 

nayeon has to take a deep breath and get herself into character. 

“hey mina.” she whispers in the girl’s ear. 

mina turns to her faster than lightning, and looks her in the eyes for one second before looking elsewhere on her face. 

“yes?” mina asks. 

“i’m cold.” nayeon whispers. 

mina’s eyes widen, her eyes scanning nayeon’s barely covered body. immediately though, she looks down with a burning face. 

“i-i...” mina trails off. “you want me to go ask them to turn the ac down?” she asks, unsure. 

“no, silly.” nayeon chuckles. “lemme borrow your sweater. pwease.” she adds with the cutest face she can muster. a face she always used on jeongyeon whenever she wanted something. but unlike jeongyeon, who would usually shoot her a look of disgust before giving her the sweater anyway, mina hands it to her without a snide remark or even a moment’s hesitation. 

nayeon smiles in satisfaction, sufficiently warmed up in mina’s comfy sweater. it’s so soft and warm. mina’s pleasant scent is an additional bonus too.

“thank you.” she whispers and mina responds with a small smile, as she turns her attention back to an animated dahyun, right in time for the. climax of the story.

...

it's well into the evening when the group decides it's time to go home. they're the shop's last customers and coincidentally, chaeyoung happens to be on the closing shift. so when they're on they're way out and chaeyoung is wiping the last of the tables, nayeon thinks it's the perfect oppportunity to tease her best friend. after timing the exact moment jeongyeon would pass by the cute part-time worker, nayeon "accidentally" shoves the unsuspecting blonde into the equally unsuspecting chaeyoung.

nayeon snickers when she passes by the starstruck ostrich who hasn't uttered a single word in front of chaeyoung but completely misses the foot that jeongyeon has stuck out, and it causes nayeon to trip and lose her balance. straight into another unsuspecting victim.

mina. 

with an flustered grin, nayeon quickly steadies herself with a quick apology, ignoring how her heart has doubled in speed. embarrassed, she rushes off to the exit before mina can say anything, silently planning her revenge.

“hey we should all hang out again some time!” nayeon suggests once they’re out of the ice cream shop. the group expresses their agreement in a series if nods and excited ‘yes’s. but nayeon finds herself looking for a quiet blonde who is now shyly standing beside her two japanese friends just at least a meter away. she waits until mina smiles and nods as well. 

“hey! what about the outing?” jihyo mentions excitedly. 

“oh yeah! the outing!” dahyun repeats. 

“what outing?” momo asks in confusion. 

“right after nationals cheerleading competition, we plan on spending the night at jihyo’s rest house by the lake! just to celebrate!” jeongyeon explains. “you guys wanna come?”

there isn’t even a second before momo and sana nod their heads in sync. but mina, on the other hand, she looks hesitant. like there was a possibility that she couldn’t or didn’t want to go. nayeon bites the inside of her cheek, feeling a little restless. she wants mina to go. it would be the perfect opportunity to bond with the girl. the perfect opportunity to establish their friendship. 

mina’s voice is low when she speaks. “i’ll pas—

“come with us!” nayeon cuts her off boldly. she knows it’s thick-skinned on her part to force the shy mina to go on the outing but she just couldn’t take a no for an answer. for some reason she really wants to spend time with mina (and her friends of course) and get to know her outside of school. 

mina’s taken aback but nayeon gives her a cheeky smile in return. and when they meet eyes, mina only slightly tenses. 

‘5...’

you should go... nayeon speaks it through her gaze. 

‘4...’

it’ll be fun. 

‘3...’

we’ll get to know each other better.

‘2...’

please come with us mina. 

‘1...’

nayeon doesn’t know if mina got a single one of her internal messages. unless maybe the blonde was a secret telepathic, which wouldn’t be much of a surprise to be honest. still, nayeon keeps her fingers crossed when she watches the japanese girl tear her gaze away then bite her lip. 

“i’ll come with you guys.” mina says, and nayeon feels as if she’s just scored the winning shot of suspenseful match. 

she smirks to herself. 

as expected,

‘no one can say no the im nayeon.’

\--

nayeon doesn’t realize she’s been smiling until her mom eventually points it out when they’re casually sitting on the sofa to watch a movie, something they haven’t done in awhile because of the late practices and the exhaustion nayeon always came home with.

“you’ve been smiling.” it’s all her mom says, but she has on this grin that makes her look like she knows something nayeon does not. 

“mom, aren’t i always smiling? what’s new?” 

“i’m just saying. you’re in an awfully good mood.” 

nayeon shrugs and tosses some popcorn in her mouth. yeah she’s in a good mood right now. for the first time in awhile, she’s actually not exhausted from practice and because of that she is spending quality time with her mom. she also took an amazing shower and now she feels absolutely refreshed. 

but most of all, she had a great day. she had a wonderful time with her friends. she enjoyed the conversations they had hanging out at the ice cream shop. not to mention the fact that they would be hanging out again after nationals. the thought of it was enough to excite her. 

if anyone were in her shoes, wouldn’t they be in a good mood too?

“oh and is that one of jeongyeon’s sweaters you’re wearing? i’m not sure i’ve seen that one before.”

nayeon is reminded of a certain shy blonde and her good mood suddenly just shoots up.

“no it’s... my friend’s, myoui mina’s.” she answers softly. 

“oh really? i thought you only borrowed sweaters from your best friend.” her mom tilts her head in curiosity. 

it is true. among the many people nayeon has borrowed sweaters from, the only ones that ever got to or remained in her house were jeongyeon’s. that’s because nayeon knows her best friend is a clean freak so she knows for sure that her sweaters are clean. also, jeongyeon usually wears one size larger in hoodies or sweaters for the comfort. needless to say, nayeon pretty much claims all of jeongyeon’s comfortable hoodies as her own as well. basically, jeongyeon is like the boyfriend she steals hoodies from. except is a girl and a best friend. 

but for the first time ever, she’s wearing a hoodie that isn’t jeongyeon’s in her home. at first, she had panicked when she realized she hadn’t returned the piece of clothing to its rightful owner. then she had settled with just returning it tomorrow at school, hanging it up by her door. 

however, nayeon herself doesn’t know what came over her to pick up that same sweater and decide she would wear mina’s hoodie in her house and walk around like it were hers. 

maybe it was the incredibly soft feel. 

and how it was oversized just how she liked it. 

and how warm it just made her feel. 

and how good it smelled. like a very subtle mix of clean cotton and a hint of vanilla. it reminded her of the blonde and it definitely was something nayeon would never get tired of. 

“mina is sort of becoming my best friend too i guess.” she finally replies.

\--

mina is in the middle of playing a mobile game while her two best friends are busy bantering about whatever topic of the hour it is. she had zoned out long ago after the first hour since they’d arrived the house and the last thing she caught was sana explaining why momo should dye her roots. not really knowing what to add to the conversation except for the fact that momo looked good in her current blonde hair, mina decided she’d just keep herself busy. 

eventually, there’s a new topic though. 

one that has mina lowering the volume of her game, just so she could listen. as subtly as she can. 

“yah, momo. when are you planning on telling dahyun?” sana asks. it’s random and sudden. 

“ask dahyun what...?” momo questions, although the way her cheeks glow a darker shade make her look as if she’s been caught redhanded. 

sana scoffs. “don’t kid yourself. you know exactly what i’m talking about.”

“i don’t know... i can never get a chance with her alone...” momo mutters. “how about tzuyu?”

“i don’t know either. she’s hot and cold. sometimes i don’t even know if she’s barely tolerating me.”

mina mumbles a low ‘eh?’ in confusion. what secrets are they keeping to themselves about their crushes that they can’t tell their own best friend?

“but tzuyu did feed you ice cream today!” momo mentions, and it sparks an even larger curiosity in mina. “if there’s one thing we all know she isn’t the affectionate type at all.”

“but so did dahyun.” sana adds. “and she’s usually too embarrassed to do such things.”

‘nayeon did too,’ mina starts to wonder. ‘however, she is both affectionate and obviously not someone to be embarrassed by such acts...

just what exactly are they talking about...?’

“i want to tell her but i’m not sure if she feels the same way i do yet.” momo says with a sigh. 

“same. i don’t wanna make anything awkward between us, if i tell her i like her but she doesn’t end up liking me back. what if she cuts me off altogether?” 

‘are they... talking about confessing...?’ mina finally realizes, jaw unhinged. she freezes in the middle of the game, and the short moment she’s out of focus causes her to get hit by an opponent, losing her kill streak.

but for some reason, she could care less about her kill streak. her attention has sufficiently been stolen. 

so she listens on, pretending to continue playing her game.

“but i really, _really_ want to tell her nowadays.” sana admits. “you know i’m not the type to keep this to myself... all i need is a hint that maybe i have a chance, and i would really risk it.”

“how can you tell if she likes you, without her saying it?”

the question comes out mina’s mouth without her thinking and her two best friends turn to her, nothing short of surprised. the previous troubled looks on their faces have now been replaced with amusement and knowing grins. 

“i would have never thought our mina would ask this.” momo says gleefully. 

“she’s growing up! there must be someone she’s interested in...” sana teases. 

“maybe it’s a certain short haired brunette with big eyes and bunny teeth...” momo hums. 

“hmm, that rings a bell. a certain cheerleader perhaps?”

engulfed in embarrassment, mina turns back to her game. “forget i asked.”

just then, her mind processes sana and momo’s specific description and her insides run wild. the only person that comes to mind is im nayeon. but that would mean, her best friends know who it is. that they know she has a crush on their cheer captain. 

“ho-how... how— how did you guys know?” mina struggles to get a sentence out because her heart’s beating out of her chest.

sana’s eyes widen. “how did we know what...?” she feigns ignorance, as if to pry. 

too nervous to react sarcastically, mina says it. “that i may have a little crush on nayeon?”

momo erupts into a victorious jump. “yes!”

meanwhile, sana heaves a relieved sigh. “finally.”

but it leaves mina utterly confused. how does that even answer her question?

“finally what?” mina echoes. 

“you’ve finally admitted you have a crush on nayeon!” sana cheers. “we’ve been waiting for awhile now...”

mina falls silent, a heat has already taken over her cheeks. “so you guys knew all along...?”

“yup!” momo confirms. “we were just waiting for you to figure it out yourself.”

“you were?”

“you’re clueless mina.” sana adds.

“i am not!” mina retorts. “plus, how did you guys know?” 

“you’re painfully obvious!” momo answers. 

sana bobs her head in agreement. “we could list all the things you do that tell us how whipped you are for our cheer captain. momo you wanna start?”

“pshh, i am not whip—

“this one’s one of my favorites: how you pretend you aren’t listening to us when we mention nayeon in the conversation. you do this thing where you tense up and move a little closer just so you can hear better.”

“oh don’t forget how she always reacts whenever we tell a story with nayeon in it!”

“that’s because it’s always involving something crazy interesting.” mina reasons, to which her friends roll their eyes. 

“how about the games?” sana exclaims. “you always tell us the only reason you come is to support us, but whenever i look at you at the bleachers, your eyes are most definitely on our captain.”

“maybe it was just a coincidence...” mina explains again but her two friends look at her dead in the eye, unconvinced. 

“this is every game.” momo says, matter-of-factly.

“i seriously doubt that.” mina denies, growing a little defensive. “i’m not that crazy about her. it’s a small crush, that’s all.” 

sana shakes her head. 

then momo smirks. “then what about the time you got detention for her?”

mina freezes.

“wh-what? i didn’t get detention for her, i told you it was just an unfortunate event and i got caught in—”

“mitang.” sana interrupts bluntly. “nayeonnie told us what really happened.”

mina is rendered speechless. her friends did know she had gotten detention and they were completely shell shocked, that’s why she decided to keep certain details to herself, fabricating a story so they wouldn’t worry too much. she should have known they would find out sooner or later. she lowers her head in shame, not knowing how to explain herself. 

“mina... there isn’t a reasonable explanation for voluntarily throwing yourself under the bus for someone that barely knows you, and vice versa. you either owe them something, or you like them.” sana explains. “it’s that simple.”

“that is definitely way more than just a ‘little crush’ to me.” momo adds. “you can’t tell me otherwise.”

“well i...” mina's mouth opens but no words come out. she can't seem to think of anything to say.

mina always thought she was the most observant one in the group. she knew her best friends by heart, by their movement, by the random sounds they make. she was also able to tell whenever their crushes came near. but it seemed her friends had been watching her all along without her even noticing and she realizes she may have just been the most oblivious one all this time. 

now, here they are, further confirming the fact that she has a big fat crush on a certain cheerleader with short brown hair, big eyes, and bunny teeth. and also that they’ve known it all along before mina herself could figure it out. 

“i also want to make another point.” momo says with a knowing smirk. 

“what’s that?” mina asks breathlessly. 

“where’s your sweater?”

“with nayeon, why?” mina replies, a little confused. 

“mina!” momo exclaims. “sharing clothes is like entering the exclusive territory! who else do you share clothes with but us?”

“isn’t it normal with friends? and i couldn’t just let her freeze.” 

sana groans, frustrated. “you’re so dense sometimes. i’ve had a crush on tzuyu since forever and i barely even get her to look at me. but you’re already sharing sweaters with nayeon like a couple.”

the mention of the word ‘couple’ incites the feeling of butterflies in mina’s stomach. it brings back the simple memory of sharing ice cream with nayeon. and also when nayeon clung to her arm. and that moment where nayeon helped her with her hood at an intimately close distance. mina just wants to relive them all. 

but then she remembers that she has definitely seen nayeon act this way around jeongyeon during class. she’s also seen nayeon often embracing sana or momo during practice. she's just as affectionate with the people around her.

“nayeon’s like that with everyone though isn’t she? it’s normal to her. i’m just another friend.” mina responds, although she feels bitter at the thought of her being apart of the ‘everyone’ that nayeon treats the same way. 

mina knows she’s made a point because both of her friends are stumped. “even if i do have a crush on her, i don’t really know if she feels the same.” 

the troubled looks that had previously adorned sana and momo’s faces return and it grows solemn when they realize they have another thing in common. 

“well since all three of us are on the same boat,” momo breaks the silence. “maybe we should confess together, that way, if we all do end up getting rejected, at least we have each other.”

mina and sana look at her like she’s crazy. 

a few moments later though, sana bites her lip and sighs. 

“oh, what the heck. i’ll do it.” sana speaks up. 

mina blinks her eyes rapidly, not knowing how to process momo’s suggestion. she has only recently realized she likes nayeon and they’ve only been friends for less than a week. confessing to the brunette has not once crossed her mind and the thought of it scared mina to her core. but a part of her thinks it’s actually a good idea to let it out. 

at the same time, her feelings have slowly begun spiraling out of control. it's like the more time she spends with the girl, the more she craves for the brunette's presence. and yet, she still can't act herself around the cheerleader. heck, she's even going on an outing with a group of people when she absolutely hates leaving her house. all because she couldn't say 'no' to nayeon. 

so what should she do...?

mina takes a look at both of her friends who express a similar inner turmoil in their faces. yet, they’re willing to risk it and the thought of being on that same boat lightened the heaviness in her chest. 

she decides to not think about all the possible outcomes, all the possible ways this could end up... and she shuts her eyes, 

if momo and sana are willing to risk it, she'll do it too, just for them. maybe it won't be that bad.

“when should we tell them?”

\-----------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nayeon's out here wearing mina's sweater because it's "warm", jeongyeon is a prankster who can't talk around a cute part time worker, momo wants to be fed ice cream, sana also wants to be fed ice cream, jihyo owns a rest house by the lake, mina is so so so clueless, dahyun is a storyteller who offers momo ice cream, chaeyoung is that cute part time worker, and tzuyu is all 'idgaf' but she feeds sana ice cream anyway.
> 
> they plan an outing at jihyo's
> 
> and j-line is also planning a joint confession... omg are they even thinking straight when they act like this? hmph!
> 
> anyway, i hoped you enjoy this chapter! let me know what you think in the comments :)))
> 
> just know there is a reason for everything, just like the weird sequence of more&more teasers, what do you think about them?


	7. a different taste

‘national’s night’

‘national’s night’

‘national’s night’

mina thinks about it over and over. she can barely even focus in any of her classes. the big event is literally two days from now and so is the hangout that her newly acquainted friends have planned.

but most especially, it would be the night that she and her best friends plan on confessing to their respective crushes.

mina already regrets ever agreeing to the decision. she thinks it’s way too early. she doesn’t even know how to speak to nayeon normally yet. she doesn’t even have the capacity to keep looking at the brunette in the eyes either. so how could she even formulate a proper confession sentence?

a combination of fear, regret, anxiety, and frustration builds up in mina and it bubbles up within her throughout the whole day at school. she wonders if it’s too late to just back out or maybe suggest that they move the date.

when she meets sana and momo for lunch however, she sees that they aren’t doing any better than herself. sana is absolutely restless while momo is stress eating. it’s a little comforting to see she’s not alone.

they spend much of their lunch in silence with the same concerns occupying their minds. until mina takes it upon herself to break the silence.

“have you guys thought of how you’re going to tell them?”

mina finds out both sana and momo both have something in mind and she instantly regrets asking because it sends a tidal wave of pressure through her body. while she…

she has absolutely nothing.

no idea nor a plan. not even a possible scenario of how her confession would pan out. maybe she should just follow the basics of sana and momo’s plan just to be safe.

simply, find some time alone with the object of affection during the outing. then admit your feelings.

it doesn’t sound hard.

not. at. all.

just two major steps...

mina tries to convince herself that. but with every time she repeats it, it just seems more and more difficult. before she knows it, she’s walking to her last class of the day, tuning out the chaos of students around her. little did she know, that same chaos would ensue in her own body once cold fingers attached themselves to her face, successfully covering her eyes.

“guess who.” the culprit says, hovering dangerously close to her ear. mina can sense a presence behind her. one that she knows all too well.

“uh...” mina can’t verbalize anything else because her mind has short circuited and her throat has gone dry.

a chuckle escapes what mina imagines are heart-shaped lips before the hands uncover her eyes.

“it’s me silly.”

mina knew that.

she doesn’t turn to her side right away knowing full well that nayeon would only be inches away from her. but despite her determination to keep her eyes forward, she’s _forcibly_ turned to the side anyway.

“i forgot to return this yesterday.” mina hears but she doesn’t really process what’s going on when nayeon is literally right in front of her, wrapping the sleeves of her hoodie around her neck into a loose knot, like she’s a gift. “thank you, mina.”

there’s something so intimate about their position that mina forgets her surroundings and her eyes just naturally gravitate to nayeon’s.

it’s one of the rare times mina doesn’t look away. despite her heart pounding out of her chest, she doesn’t turn away. she even forgets to count. right now honestly, she feels like she could stare at nayeon and never get tired of it.

because somehow, someway mina sees everything in her...

it’s only until the word “ten,” escapes nayeon’s lips that mina snaps out of her daze. she has to take a few seconds to fully process the word and the reality that she has suddenly returned to.

“ten seconds!” nayeon repeats, excitement laced in her voice, mina hears a little more giddiness than usual. “you kept eye contact with me for 10 seconds!”

“i did,” mina says timidly, now feeling a heat creep in from her ears to her cheeks. she wonders if it was really ten seconds? it had gone by like a blink of an eye.

“wow mina! great progress! how did that feel?” nayeon questions, smile plastered on her face.

“i... i can’t even put it to words.” mina replies, sincerely. it’s true.

nayeon’s expression softens, she opens her mouth to speak but then she closes it and smiles instead, she links their arms together.

“let’s go to class!”

\--

thirty minutes into class, and nayeon has long tuned out the boring old man standing at the front of the classroom babbling about the weird symbols and numbers on the board. she figures she’ll just use jeongyeon’s notes later. for now she settles with mindlessly doodling on her notebook aka, the one with all the funny drawings that mina took account for.

in a matter of a few minutes, there isn’t a sketch of the annoying professor. but of a simple milk carton…

nayeon’s heart skips when her eyes somehow find a way to the blonde sitting a few seats up front.

and it doubles when the blonde shyly glances at her direction with those warm eyes of hers. nayeon doesn’t know why she suddenly feels a little self-conscious now.

she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, curving her lips just enough for mina and only mina to see her grin. nayeon catches how a faint red quickly spreads throughout the blonde’s cheeks before she whips her head back to the front. it’s kind of adorable.

it’s funny how right before class, mina had managed to keep eye contact for ten seconds but now, she’s all red and bashful again. nayeon doesn’t mind it, because at least mina is making progress.

(she says she doesn’t mind it, however, that simple moment is all she’s been thinking about.)

nayeon doesn’t realize she sports a similar color on her own face as well...

soon, mr. dried tomato dismisses the class and nayeon readily slings her bag over her shoulder because she had packed up her stuff minutes prior.

“are you in such a hurry?” jeongyeon asks sarcastically, neatly organizing her things into her backpack.

“we have to catch up to mina before she runs off again.” nayeon says like it’s the most obvious thing ever, crossing her arms, while scanning the crowd of students flooding the classroom doors.

just as she had feared, she sees a certain blonde exit the classroom without as much as a glance at their direction and nayeon has to hide the utter disappointment she feels when the main reason she had packed up early was to catch up with said blonde.

“how could she go just like that?” she wonders out loud.

she reminds herself to lecture mina on saying goodbye, or farewell, or waving goodbye, or even just exchanging glances before leaving. surely this is what friends do.

“let’s go?” jeongyeon finally says after minutes of organizing her backpack. and like usual, they’re the last ones to leave. nayeon crosses her arms feigning annoyance although she honestly feels more upset than annoyed.

“someone’s moody” jeongyeon comments as they make their way out through the door.

“i am not moo—” nayeon stops in her tracks when she sees the blonde standing just a few meters away and leaning against the wall as if she were waiting for something or maybe someone. nayeon silently hopes it’s the latter and she also hopes that someone is her. mina doesn’t seem to notice however, so nayeon takes a moment to take in the girl’s features. like her nose, her pouted lips, her warm eyes, her prominent moles.

“hey mina!” jeongyeon greets first, successfully calling the blonde’s attention. there’s another skip in nayeon’s heart when mina’s lips curve up shyly. “were you waiting for us?”

mina nods, standing up straight now.

nayeon catches the subtle glance that mina throws her way and notices how the girl bites her lips and whips her head to the opposite direction, her ears burning a shade of red.

nayeon thinks it’s cute...

...in a platonic, kind of way of course.

but then, nayeon remembers she had planned to lecture the girl, so she stomps on over to her.

“you!” she frowns at the unsuspecting girl, approaching the wide-eyed blonde until she’s literally two feet away. mina’s already beginning to turn red, taking a step back to distance themselves.

“na-nayeon?” she ask softly, tilting her head curiously.

“you shouldn’t...” nayeon loses her train of thought because there’s something so electrifying about mina’s warm brown gaze on her that she momentarily forgets her words. “you-you um, you shouldn’t...”

she’s stuttering now.

‘what’s going on with me?’

“don’t mind her mina.” jeongyeon joins in, standing beside nayeon and she’s never felt more grateful for her best friend saving her from embarrassment. “she’s butthurt because she packed up early to catch up with you but you left.”

nayeon’s eyes dart toward her best friend in alarm. god, she didn’t have to mention all that. she bites her lips in even more embarrassment. soon she feels the same pair of eyes on her. it feels like the blonde is staring straight through her. for some reason, nayeon can’t bring herself to look at the owner.

“i am not butthurt.” she mutters.

jeongyeon lets out an unconvinced “hmm” before changing the subject. “well anyway! it’s your last day of detention today mina!”

“yeah it is.”

“aren’t you excited? detention must’ve been such a burden to you.”

a burden...

nayeon’s ears perk up in curiosity. had it really been a burden for mina? she can’t help but feel a little guilty after being reminded once again that mina had wrongly gotten detention for her sake. perhaps, it had been a burden all along. mina had no choice but to deal with it and maybe all this time, she had been pretending to be okay because she’s just too nice.

yet the heaviness on nayeon’s shoulders eases up when mina speaks.

“it’s been quite enjoyable actually.”

nayeon whips her head to the blonde and catches the way mina is looking at her so shyly before turning away after being caught. nayeon tries to bite back the uncontrollable smile that takes over her lips.

“well that’s good to hear.” jeongyeon replies with a relieved smile. “well, this is our stop.” she informs, gesturing to the exit door leading to the field. oh right, nayeon remembers they each have practice today.

“okay.” mina nods. “good luck.” she adds before waving goodbye.

but nayeon wants to say “wait,” and catch up to the blonde. she wants walk her to the classroom. she wants to link their arms as they do so.

but she’s also frozen in her stance. why is she thinking so hard about it? why is she suddenly so unsure of herself? she’s never been one to mull it over this much.

all it takes is a nudge from her best friend to get her back to her senses. “you’re acting weird nabongs. just go.”

“what, i’m not acting weird.”

jeongyeon rolls her eyes, not saying another word all the while shooing her in the process.

“i’ll just go ahead.”

nayeon blinks watching as jeongyeon runs off to the field leaving her in the hall with her feet glued to the floor.

“mina wait up!” she finally musters.

the blonde stops in her tracks and turns around with a soft, yet surprised look on her face. she eventually takes slow steps to approach the brunette, while nayeon runs to the blonde to meet her halfway.

(nayeon and running, two words that should never be put together. yet, she finds herself doing it for mina a lot more often recently.)

“is there something you need?” mina asks carefully, once nayeon’s beside her.

“no, i just...” nayeon takes a moment to calm her racing heart, probably from that short sprint she had just done. “i’ll walk with you to the classroom.” she beams.

“o-oh okay.” mina says quietly, eyes traveling to her own feet, and nayeon notices how the blonde matches their footing as they walk. nayeon doesn’t know why or how a simple detail could make her feel all tingly, but it just does and she would be lying if she said she didn’t like it.

no words are exchanged for the duration of the walk. just nayeon walking extremely close to mina who thankfully doesn’t seem to mind the distance. maybe she’s gotten used to it. from what she remembers, her best friends are probably just as clingy. sana especially.

for a moment, nayeon hesitates, but she instantly wraps her arm around mina’s own as they walk together. and despite nobody questioning her actions she feels the need to explain herself anyway.

“we’re friends, we can do this.”

to which mina replies with frantic nod.

soon they arrive the classroom and while mina steps inside, nayeon remains by the doorway. she has to leave soon for practice but mina is staring at her like _that_ again and it’s caused her to freeze momentarily.

she counts.

‘…five…’

why are you looking at me like that, mina?

‘…six…’

do i have something on my face?

‘…seven…’

why are your eyes so deep and passionate?

‘…eight…’

is there something you want to say to me?

‘…nine…’

am i annoying you?  
  


‘…ten.’

“nayeon,”

the short-haired brunette doesn’t realize she’s holding her breath. this must be it. maybe mina has had enough of her. maybe the latter is finally going to tell her to leave her alone. nayeon clenches her fists in worry. she’s suddenly grown so concerned of what mina’s thinking of her now and she can’t help but overthink.

“i’m sorry for earlier.” it comes out of mina’s mouth so soft that it’s almost a whisper. but nayeon can hear the sincerity of every word despite the blonde now looking everywhere but at her. it’s enough for nayeon to ease up.

“as friends, i know i should have been a bit more considerate.” mina continues.

‘friends…’

that’s right. they’re friends, nayeon repeats to herself. that’s what they should be.

she’s reminded of her plan of best friend zoning mina and she’s made really good progress so far. the eye contact, getting mina to talk more, being able to cling to her the way she does with jeongyeon… it’s safe to say her plan is going solid.

nayeon regains her composure, remembers she’s im nayeon. she does what she wants and gets what she wants. and if her goal is to ultimately best friend zone mina and help the awkward blonde with her social skills, then she’ll achieve it no matter what.

“no biggie.” nayeon assures. “at least now you know, for future purposes. i get a bit sensitive.”

mina eyes are once again stuck on the ground.

“hey mina,” nayeon calls softly. “it’s your last day of detention.”

mina only hums in response.

“you must be excited.”

“yes.” mina replies this time.

“it must have been a nuisance having to waste your time like this. heck, maybe i’ve annoyed you all this time.”

nayeon laces her words with a joking tone, yet sincerely hopes that’s not the case.

but mina is quick to look up and shake her head. “not at all.” she says. “i-i meant what i said earlier. i enjoyed it thanks to you.”

there’s a light fluttery feeling inside nayeon’s chest that spreads throughout her body.

nayeon finally breaks into a grin when she looks at mina. “wait for me after practice, i’ll treat you to ice cream.”

“you don’t have to.” mina says, scratching the back of her neck.

“i won’t take no for an answer, mina. this is my thank you.”

nayeon’s grin grows impossibly wide when mina finally agrees. her heart shaped lips may have been the cause of the mad blush on the blonde’s face but nayeon is too immersed in her victorious moment to notice.

“great! after practice, let’s meet here, okay!” nayeon adds excitedly, to which mina nods like she always does. and even when they bid their farewells, there’s a pep in her step all the way to the field.

\--

mina plunges her head into the soft cotton of her sweater that undoubtedly smells of nayeon.

she groans.

the short haired brunette has somehow lodged herself into her mind with an anchor that mina doubts will ever even move at this point. she didn’t think it was possible but here she is repeating everything about nayeon that she has witnessed today. from their brief encounter before class, to the way the brunette had adorably fumbled over her words, to the way she latched herself beside her and how at that moment, mina to knew there was no one else she would ever want to be so close to more than nayeon.

and oh, her eyes.

mina groans once more.

she’s been getting more lost into the brunette’s brown orbs lately. she can’t even explain the way it feels at this point.

mina sits up straight and takes a peek outside the window. there’s a clear view of the cheer team practicing diligently, mastering every step and choreo. there’s also a clear view of serious captain nayeon, in a pair of sweats and an all too revealing crop top. mina can’t control the redness that raids her face and ears.

then she thinks of the nayeon who smiled the cutest bunny tooth smile when she suggested getting ice cream. and how it caused a blush much like the one on mina’s face now.

mina can’t help but to marvel at the duality.

her eyes travel to the untouched strawberry milk on her desk. nayeon didn’t come back to enjoy the beverage today. but mina doesn’t think too much of it considering the championship would take place in two days if nayeon needed to give all her focus on the cheer team then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

maybe she’ll give the cheerleader the beverage later when they meet up again for their ice cream…

mina feels her insides rumbling chaotically at the simple thought of meeting nayeon later. would it be considered a date? oh goodness. she would be going on a date with the im nayeon.

mina squirms in her seat and buries her head into the large sweater once again. how is she going to survive?

just then, there’s a loud clash of materials that no doubt came from right outside in the hallway, and it urges mina to sit upright. she can’t see what’s going on and it sparks both her concern and curiosity. she ponders whether she should go outside and help but there’s a momentary silence and she assumes whoever dropped that mess of materials probably has it under control now.

that is, until there’s a small clang on the floor,

followed by another,

and then it all falls again. or at least that’s what mina imagines, based on the loud crash that’s much louder and much more chaotic this time.

she gets up and steps out of the classroom to find a standing canvas.

wait what?

mina furrows her brows at the sight before she realizes there’s a large canvas being carried by an oppositely small person whose face and upper body is completely blocked. on top of that, there’s two buckets dangling on her elbows similar to how one holds a purse. except inside those two metal purses are what looks like several types of brushes and paint bottles respectively. it looks like they weigh more than the person can handle.

the poor student is swaying left and right as if she’s about to lose balance and, in a panic, mina rushes to approach the obviously struggling student, carefully taking the canvas from the latter’s hands.

mina’s eyes widen at the surprising heaviness of the canvas before twisting her head to catch a glimpse of its owner. the sight almost causes her to drop said canvas.

it’s the cashier from yesterday.

a realization hits mina once she pinpoints the familiarity of the petite girl with a prominent mole near her bottom lip.

-

mina settles the canvas on the ground before turning to the dimpled girl.

“thanks.” she shorter of the two says softly, “again.”

that’s right. this is the second time mina has helped the girl at a similar situation. in fact, mina remembers the first time they had met was coincidentally, the first day of detention.

_instead of a canvas and buckets of painting materials, the artist had been carrying sketchbooks and papers in one arm while the other hand held up a piece of paper that similarly obstructed her view like the canvas did._

_mina, at the time, had been in too much of a daze to notice the girl rushing out of the classroom. obviously, neither of the two were expecting to crash against each other. but they did. and along with the groans of pain that escaped their lips, came a mess of beautifully drawn pictures and rough sketches scattered on the floor._

_they had both apologized profusely, both bending down to pick up said papers. yet neither thought to even look at each other’s faces._

_until of course, mina reached for the last detailed sketch of what looked like a school field. little did she know, the latter had been doing the same. as a result, their hands bumped into each other, urging them both to look forward and finally acknowledge each other’s faces for just a brief moment._

_and a small “thank you,” was all mina heard before the girl all but dashed out of the classroom, leaving mina in another daze._

mina didn’t think too much of the encounter then, too preoccupied with the fact that she had detention. and she easily forgot it when her crush then arrived at the classroom.

now however, the memory has returned vividly, and so has the curiosity that was never addressed. the blonde’s eyes travel from the painting materials to the artist.

then she notices how the latter is panting quietly. probably from carrying all those things for who knows how long. out of concern, mina suddenly thinks to offer the poor artist the strawberry milk that she had originally kept for a certain cheer captain.

she’ll just buy another one later.

and so, she watches as the artist sips a big gulp before sending her an adorable, dimpled smile which mina returns with ease. mina also wonders if the latter’s face is extra red from lugging all the materials around. something about the girl makes mina feel all soft inside.

“do you need water?” mina questions, softly.

“no, this is more than fine.” the artist responds, shaking her head in a childlike manner. “it’s actually my favorite.” she adds, much quieter.

‘that makes two of you…’ mina is easily reminded of nayeon and she can’t help but smile.

soon the atmosphere grows awkward and mina curses her social skills because she can’t think of anything else to say.

“i’m… sorry for intruding, i’ll just leave. thanks again.”

awkwardly, mina just nods.

just like that, the shorter of the two begins to walk away. but something strikes inside mina.

“wait!” she calls, but the artist is already out of the door.

“wait!” she calls again, but her voice is too soft.

she remembers the girl’s name pin from yesterday. maybe she should use it.

“son chaeyoung!”

it does the job.

\--

“i just need to use the restroom really quickly!” nayeon exclaims, using their fifteen-minute break to dash back to the school.

she had missed hers and mina’s daily-detention-milk-drinking-sesh and now she plans on making up for it during the short break coach has just given them.

she stops by the vending machine to buy mina’s favorite. already, she begins to feel her heart race. but it’s probably because of all that running she’s just done.

however, she does a take a moment to check her reflection on the vending machine’s glass, fixing her hair, her clothes, and wiping away the sweat on her forehead.

and she returns to the vending machine to check her appearance a second time to be sure before making her way to the detention classroom, banana milk in hand. it’s the first time she’s ever done it.

but hey, she has a reputation, and she would rather not be seen all sweaty and gross.

nayeon expects to see an adorable blonde with a strawberry milk beverage in hand, turning her head towards her when she enters the room. she expects to see the soft smile that would then slowly take over her lips as nayeon came closer. heck, nayeon had even prepared herself for another one of their staring tests, expecting the blonde to be staring at her and only her with those electrifying brown eyes.

instead, someone else is holding on to her favorite pink beverage. and mina is smiling that soft smile for that same someone. and mina’s warm brown eyes are staring solely that someone without any difficulty.

nayeon didn’t expect that someone to be son chaeyoung, the cute cashier/crush of her ostrich best friend that she had met just yesterday.

neither did she expect that the shy, quiet, socially awkward mina would hit it off with chaeyoung so well. maybe her social skills lessons are working out after all. mina seems to be doing really good.

this should be a good thing. nayeon should be proud of her pupil. she should be elated that mina has put the “lessons” to good use, seeing how she’s interacting so well with the dimpled girl. this is the same mina she’s been trying to friend zone. so nayeon should be nothing but happy for her.

but for some reason, she feels everything but that.

nayeon knows for a fact that she’s not supposed to feel this weird squeeze in her stomach. or this weird tightening of her chest. but she does for some reason.

nayeon backs away from the door, preventing herself from being seen. (even though she thinks they’re too preoccupied to even notice she was even there.)

leaning against the wall just outside of the classroom, nayeon breathes out a shaky sigh, to gather herself. she forgets what to do and she’s torn between making her presence known or just letting them be.

after a long minute, she decides to not intrude and leave them alone. she doesn’t even realize she has squeezed the life out of the banana beverage. it’s a surprise it didn’t spill.

nayeon sticks the straw into the deformed yellow carton and takes a sip.

it isn’t as sweet as the last time she drank it; the time she shared the drink with mina.

\------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello :)
> 
> first of all i am very sorry for the long wait, i had major writer's block and also a couple of problems i needed to sort out first. at the moment i am continuously writing however i havent really liked the outcomes so i've been rewriting again and again lol. pleaase bear with me!
> 
> anyway!!!!
> 
> it seems things are developing...
> 
> as always, let me know what you think! reactions, constructive criticisms, predictions ooooo bc some of you were right!


	8. i think of you more than i think should

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> omg has this happened before?
> 
> i feel like it has... OoO
> 
> AND NO i will not abandon this. i’m sorry it took me months to update such a short chapter but for a long time there was a gap in the story i didn’t know how to fill and i probably made a hundred drafts before this one but i’m still not too proud. trust and believe i will make this make sense soon
> 
> thank you guys for waiting patiently, that means so much. 
> 
> as always let me know what you think, whether it may be violent reactions, criticisms, questions, predictions or whatever lol just let me know 
> 
> ps i saw the teaser for the new TTT and ahhhh— just the inspo i needed *chefskiss*
> 
> stay tuned!

mina does not have a talent for art. maybe she has extensive knowledge of famous artists or types of art and art history, but did that mean she could make art? no. she can’t draw to save her life. maybe with an exception for basic shapes but even then, she struggles.

so naturally, she finds herself in utter awe at the canvas that’s been propped up on a wooden easel right by the window. specifically, son chaeyoung’s canvas.

it’s not finished but it already looks like a replica of the very view that mina has learned to appreciate in her days of detention.

in this world, some people are just gifted and son chaeyoung, is one of them. she makes it look easy.

another thing that mina finds easy, surprisingly enough, is being with the dimpled girl. perhaps it’s her calm and openminded personality. mina is never any good at meeting new people but somehow, she’s able to keep a conversation with the younger girl. she’s even able to hold eye contact when she speaks. nonetheless, maybe being with nayeon is really paying off.

the room is mostly silent. a comfortable type of silent. one where chaeyoung speaks maybe a sentence at a time and mina offers just a short response, not wanting to bother her artistic momentum.

it’s nice, mina thinks. having chaeyoung as company in the otherwise empty classroom, that is. hopefully, chaeyoung thinks the same. she even makes it a point to make her movements as small and soundless as possible so as to not distract the dimpled girl.

“does it look okay?” chaeyoung asks shyly, as if she isn’t aware of how amazing it looks.

mina tenses in her seat not expecting the sudden question. “it’s beautiful.”

she means it.

“i appreciate that.” chaeyoung smiles, dimple on full display. “i just hope it’s good enough for the showcase.”

chaeyoung had first explained to her that all this work she was putting in was for the art club. there would be a showcase coming up in the next week and she had been one of the members nominated to display her artwork.

“i think that if you were chosen, then it’s because they have full faith that you could create something amazing.” mina says. “i would have voted for you too.”

the blonde notices how chaeyoung freezes in her seat, and though mina can only see her side view, there’s also a light pink decorating her cheeks as she bites her bottom lip.

she takes a moment before finally speaking up.

“then…”

“…would you want to come to the showcase?” chaeyoung finally turns to her, eyes so bright and hopeful that mina feels her heart swell.

“it’s next week. on thursday! there’ll be food and a lot of wonderful pieces for you to see… but- but i understand if you may be busy, it’s just some showcase anyway it’s not anything special—”

when chaeyoung is looking at her like that, mina didn’t have the heart to say no.

“i’d like to go.”

just like that, the worried look on chaeyoung’s face turns into one of pure happiness and mina finds it so endearing that she too, smiles.

\--

nayeon wipes off the beads of sweat on her face. for the past hour of practice, she has been exerting all her energy into every single move like she always does. this time, she may be going just a little overboard because they aren’t even halfway done and she’s panting heavily, her limbs growing heavy with fatigue.

she doesn’t have room to think about being tired though. not when it’s every few minutes that she’ll find her eyes travel to the school building, wondering what it is mina and chaeyoung may be doing or talking about.

it’s immediately followed up self-reminders that it’s not a big deal or that she shouldn’t even be thinking about it.

(so why is she…?)

but then it brings her to a dilemma. because what is she going to do now that she knows her best friend’s crush seems to have taken a liking on her soon-to-be best friend? it’ll break jeongyeon if she finds out.

nayeon takes a deep inhale and exhale.

‘focus.’

it’s the nth time she tells herself that.

\--

nayeon looks tired. 

mina feels her brows begin to knit together at the sight. 

she doesn’t like the obvious exhaustion she sees on the cheer captain’s face. she doesn’t like how the girl seems to have a hard time catching her breath because of how hard she’s working. come to think of it, she hasn’t seen the brunette smile, laugh, or joke around like she usually does during practice. 

something is bothering nayeon and it’s beginning to bother mina too. 

“everything okay?”

chaeyoung’s careful voice catches mina from her thoughts. the blonde blinks her eyes back to reality. 

“you look worried.” chaeyoung says. 

“oh i-i’m... i’m okay.” mina stammers. “i got lost in my thoughts for a little.”

“alright then.” chaeyoung looks a little skeptical, but she turns back to her painting nonetheless. it’s then that mina decides to divert her attention to the art to avoid making herself obvious. 

“the colors look nice.”

mina wishes she didn’t sound so awkward saying it. she cringes at herself but luckily, the dimpled girl seems too caught up in painting to care. 

coincidentally, chaeyoung just happened to be adding details on the area of the field where the cheerleaders practice. though the faces aren’t clear, mina knows who it is standing right at the center with her crop tshirt and sweats. 

chaeyoung giggles bashfully. “this is just the base, but thank you.”

mina smiles back fondly. she watches chaeyoung continue her work, a thin brush in hand and soon, her eyes land on the nayeon in the painting. inevitably, they manage their way back to the view outside the window to find the real nayeon.

she gulps.

is she seeing things or is nayeon looking at her direction? 

mina whips her head back to the painting embarrassed at the thought of being caught. (even though there’s no way she can be sure of that, given the actual distance between them.) 

slowly though, mina turns her head back to the field and finds the cheerleaders already back in formation and it’s only then that she lets out a relieved exhale. 

and so the blonde spends her time subtly observing the cheer team...

...

even until several minutes pass by and the field lights have been switched on.

it’s the first time mina has ever stayed in the detention room well into the evening. by now, she would be buried in her sheets taking a nap or enjoying a quick game. but here she is, sitting in the exact room that has changed so many aspects of her life in just a span of five days. it’s funny how she doesn’t care too much about losing precious time with her games anymore. 

how could she care? she would be going to the ice cream shop with nayeon later. mina is sure no game could possibly beat that. if nayeon tells her to wait for her, she’ll do it. 

the thought sparks a spike in her nerves. 

it only gets worse when she sees the cheerleaders begin their cool down exercises. that probably meant their practice would end soon. had time really gone by that quickly?

a small clang of a metal bucket brings her attention back to the artist who has already begun packing up her things without her even realizing it.

“are you leaving?” she asks, tilting her head. 

chaeyoung’s in the middle of taking off her paint stained apron when she answers, “yes, i think i’ve done enough for today. i’ll come back and finish it next week.”

the blonde widens her eyes in concern, noticing the smaller girl slide her arms under the bucket handles, getting ready to carry them. soon enough, chaeyoung’s getting ready to pick up her canvas too and mina gets a momentary déjà vu moment when a recent scene of a ‘walking canvas’ replays in her mind. 

knowing what could happen if the shorter girl would try and take the heavy load all on her own, mina rushes and carefully lifts the canvas from her hands, careful not to touch any places with wet paint to avoid ruining it. 

and when she turns to her side just enough to see chaeyoung’s surprised face, she can’t help but chuckle because she had definitely seen this same exact expression earlier. 

\--

the sound of girls chattering and things clattering are all muted out as nayeon stares at her reflection in the mirror. she wonders if her hair looks better tied up or not. it looks good either way she thinks.

(she settles with keeping it down.)

nayeon is in the locker room with the rest of the cheerleaders now, having changed into a fresh set of clothes because her practice clothes had been soaked in sweat.

now, she’s in a purple tee and her extra pair of practice shorts. 

“nayeonnie!” she hears from beside her. 

the brunette doesn’t even have time to respond when she’s tackled into one of sana’s bearhugs. she’s barely able to breathe until the ginger haired girl finally lets her go.

“sana! what was that for—

“is everything okay now?” she asks, her puppy dog eyes glowing. 

nayeon’s expression softens. 

“yeah, of course.”

practice had given nayeon ample time to set her mind straight. enough time to regain her composure and put her thoughts together. (and by setting her mind straight, she means pushing the troublesome ones she doesn't understand in the back of her mind...)

but again, it was enough time to regain her composure and put her thoughts together. enough time to remind herself of her _plan_ and her goals. that was all she needed to do. she’s fine, she reminds herself. nothing’s bothering her anymore. 

the next thing she knows, sana is checking her arms and legs. 

“you’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“of course not!” she shakes her head. 

from her peripherals, she can see momo running towards her as well, so she braces for impact just in case she’s tackled into another embrace. 

fortunately, momo stops right in front of her, an energy bar in hand. 

“eat this, okay? you worked too hard earlier.”

nayeon can’t help but feel warm inside at her teammates’ kindness. 

“we wanted to approach you earlier but you were full on captain mode. no one could even come close.” momo explains. 

perhaps she had been too strict earlier...

“but now that practice is over, we want to make sure you’re okay.” sana adds, gently squeezing her shoulder. “you don’t have that troubled expression on your face now so i’m guessing whatever was bothering you isn’t bothering you anymore.”

did she really look so bothered...?

nayeon feels the need to steer away the concern and assure them that it wasn’t that serious. 

because it really wasn’t serious...

“i just got a tiny bit nervous about the competition.” she lies. “it happens once in a while. everything is fine.”

the two, thankfully don’t question her much further and once they’ve established that everything is indeed alright, nayeon spends some time chatting normally with the two, from random things to nationals to the outing night. until they eventually, have to say goodbye and go their separate ways. while the japanese duo makes their way out of school, nayeon makes her way deeper into the school’s empty halls. 

and walking in the extremely quiet building allows nayeon to hear the drumming in her chest. 

with every beat, nayeon tries her best calm it. filling herself with reminders that nothing’s wrong and that she’s just going to have a normal hang out with mina. a hangout with a future best friend of hers. and that whatever she witnessed earlier wasn’t a big deal. 

she pretends she’s about to go somewhere with jeongyeon. how she’s going to annoy the heck out her. crack a few jokes. tell a million stories.

instead of reacting explosively like jeongyeon would, mina’s probably just going smile at her sweetly and quietly and let her joke away. she’d listen all the stories she has to tell and look at her with _that_ expression of hers. 

‘the way she looked at chaeyoung...’

the image appears in her mind quickly and suddenly, it brings back a strange sensation which she shakes off as soon as possible. 

‘stop being weird, nayeon.’ she tells herself. 

when the door of the detention classroom is finally in view, the brunette finds herself slowing down, fixing her hair unconsciously, thinking about what she should do or say first. though in the back of her mind, she wonders if the two are still there... 

a part of her hopes she'll only see mina sitting in her usual desk. 

but that’s not the case. 

because when nayeon takes a step into the open door of the classroom, she’s wearing a winning smile, preparing a warm greeting.

“hi—

but there’s no one to greet her back. 

and for some reason, being in the empty room feels a little worse then when she had seen it occupied. the smile on her face drops and she has to take a sharp inhale.

'did she take too long getting ready? did mina get tired of waiting? did she forget?'

another question pops in her head. one with a larger impact than the rest, one that brings another throbbing feeling within her chest. a feeling she’s been feeling too much of today. 

'did she leave with chaeyoung?'

with heavy steps, the brunette walks further into the classroom headed to the seat mina would usually occupy. she wishes she hadn’t spent so much time freshening herself if she knew it would only go to waste. maybe she would’ve been able to catch up with mina before she left. 

she slumps into the chair, dropping her duffel carelessly on the floor. 

she sighs, wondering if the blonde has ever felt like this waiting for her. 

but then,

nayeon hears the faint sound of footsteps getting nearer and louder. her heart beats in pace with them too. before she knows it, there’s a pale hand that latches itself on the doorframe. could it be...?

she pretends to be invested in the random drawings on the desk, not wanting to get her hopes up. when she hears panting from the door, she doesn’t turn her head to the sound right away. 

“ahem.”

nayeon’s eyes widen. she feels like this has happened before. her eyes immediately find their way to the door and she swears her heart does a backflip. 

in her hand is a strawberry milk drink. and slung over her arms is the sweater that nayeon secretly wants to steal. and on her face is that sweet smile that’s been popping in her mind so very often lately.

she’s wearing _that_ expression. _that_ look in her eyes.

it's enough to maker her completely forget to count the seconds.

“myoui mina.” nayeon she ends up saying breathlessly. 

——


	9. spice, ice, and second guesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize, this is not my best work. which is probably why i took so long to post :/  
> but this is certainly "the calm before the storm" and i hope you look forward to rest of the story. as usual, let me know what you think, predict, anything i am up for any opinion :)  
> also good luck with finals!

mina is panting by the time she gets to the door.

(the art room had oh-so-conveniently been on the other side of the large school building. and after dropping off chaeyoung’s canvas, she had bid the artist a rushed goodbye before dashing back to the detention classroom, but not without stopping by the vending machine of course.)

now, here she is standing at the doorway and a certain brunette is sitting in her seat. the air is knocked out of her chest a second time.

she says “hi,” but it comes out as a bare, nervous whisper and nayeon doesn’t seem to notice. so she clears her throat, and it’s then that the girl finally turns her head to her. mina can’t control how her lips just naturally tug upwards.

when they lock eyes, it feels as if it’s been ages since they’ve last seen each other even though it had only been a few hours.

...

mina counts to a whopping five seconds when nayeon finally speaks and the blonde swears her name sounds so good when it rolls off of nayeon’s tongue.

“myoui mina.”

“hi.” she greets. it’s louder this time. carefully, she approaches the the brunette, soon taking the seat beside her. nayeon’s seat. the close distance between gives her tingles on the skin even when they aren’t touching. perhaps it’s just the aura that the cheer captain exudes.

there’s something different though. nayeon isn’t looking at her now.

mina decides to ignore it.

“i got you this.” she adds, placing the pink milk carton on the desk which brings a small, thankful smile on the brunette’s face.

when nayeon takes a hold of the pink carton, she looks a little tense when she does so. and the next thing she does is quite unexpected. she places the straw into the designated hole but instead of taking a sip, she offers it to mina.

“i forgot to get you your banana milk.” she says, looking down. “plus you look a little tired. so drink up.” nayeon brings the drink just a few inches near mina’s mouth.

it’s such a sweet gesture, mina’s not sure if she could ever turn it down. so she leans a little closer and takes a sip. the strawberry milk is absolutely delicious and has her heart beating.

when she looks up,

nayeon is still looking elsewhere.

mina doesn’t mind it.

but then nayeon takes a sip soon after and mina blushes like mad, words escaping her own mouth without her realizing it.

“indirect kiss.”

nayeon’s shoulders go rigid. mina watches as her cheeks dust a light red. this time, she finally looks at her, but only for a brief second. “i-it’s normal! don’t you share drinks with your best friends too? i mean it’s just a drink!”

“ye-yeah it’s normal.” mina agrees, feeling a new awkwardness settle in the room. so she boldly tries to change the subject.

“how was practice?” she asks.

“it was okay, the usual. prepping for the competition and all.”

nayeon keeps her head straight when she answers. it concerns mina that maybe she’s done something wrong for the brunette to not want to look at her. maybe the other girl just isn’t in the mood.

“are you feeling tired or anything?” she asks.

“just a little bit.” nayeon admits, yet still does not give her as much as a glance.

‘so she’s tired... that must be why’

mina nods, a small smile adorning her face but she does feel a little disappointed. she gets it now. perhaps nayeon’s a little too tired today and isn’t in the mood to go anywhere. mina doesn’t want to force her to do anything.

“do you want to just go home and rest? it’s alright with me if that’s what you prefe—

“no!” nayeon turns to her this time finally looking at mina in the eyes. “i mean, no. i promised you i’d treat you.” she shyly adds, a little softer.

mina blinks her eyes, this is one of the few times she’s ever seen the girl all flustered. the im nayeon she (and probably most of the student body) knew only exuded confidence and charm.

this side of im nayeon is different. this nayeon gets shy and flustered too. mina didn’t like her any less for that. in fact, she finds herself even more drawn to the brunette.

so when nayeon abruptly stands up, muttering a quiet “we should go,” mina is quick to follow suit like the whipped puppy she is.

“okay.” she responds, catching up to the brunette in the process.

-

their walk is unusually quiet until nayeon clears her throat.

“so how was your last day of detention? i’m sorry i couldn’t come visit.”

mina, who had been busy recounting every single one of her actions in any case she had made things awkward between them, is caught off guard by the question.

“i-it was alright!” she stammers. “and don’t worry about it, you were busy and that’s fine.”

after that is silence. mina notices how nayeon has her lips pursed and looks as of she’s in deep thought.

“did you have fun?”

“uhm yes! it was pretty nice.”

another silence follows...

“so you weren’t lonely?”

mina doesn’t know why but she feels a little stressed answering nayeon’s questions.

“no, i wasn’t!”

once again, they are engulfed in silence and mina contemplates whether she should mention the fact that she spent her detention with chaeyoung. maybe then, it’ll facilitate more conversation between.

(because gosh, she misses the way nayeon is so carefree whenever she talks about whatever comes to mind.)

it takes a her a full minute to muster her words.

“i actually bumped into cha—

but she’s interrupted by a grumbling stomach.

the sound permeates the extremely silent hallway. soon, she witnesses nayeon’s face contort into shock matched with a scarlet red coloring her cheeks down to her neck.

“oh my god.” the words leave as a whisper and nayeon brings a hand to cover her face.

“please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

mina’s troubled expression softens at the embarrassed look on nayeon’s face... she wants to tell her that it’s okay and that she doesn’t have to be embarrassed. and that she’s used to it, especially since hirai momo is her best friend who’s almost always hungry.

so, she feigns ignorance.

“hear what?”

it’s then that the blonde knows she’s finally said something right because nayeon drops the hand that had been covering her face and looks at her with wide eyes. after a slow second, nayeon’s lips spread into this gorgeous grateful smile. mina swears she feels her heart almost beat out of her ribcage. to add even more to that impact, the cheer captain lets out a giggle that sounds like a beautiful melody. it makes her feel weak in the knees and washes over her with relief.

mina smiles reassuringly, meeting nayeon’s eyes with her own. she’s getting a whole lot better lately.

but they only make it to five before one of them looks away.

it’s nayeon who does so.

“there’s a noodle restaurant close to the ice cream shop.” nayeon starts. “i’m sorry i can’t drive us but it’s only about a ten minute walk from here. is that okay with you?”

mina thinks it’s more than okay. in fact she can’t even utter a word because she’s so okay with it. she hums in agreement, trying her best to calm the butterflies in her stomach. the more she thinks about it, the more unbelievable it becomes. she’s hanging out with im nayeon. she’s going out to eat with im nayeon. she’s going to eat ice cream with im nayeon.

..

on their walk, mina observes the sky has been tinged with orange and dark purple hues. the sun has decided to turn in for the day to let the moon and the city lights take their turn to shine.

(mina thinks the girl beside her shines too... )

she’s way too shy to say so.

instead, she gathers her courage and starts the conversation with,

“do you like evenings?”

nayeon looks a little surprised when she turns to mina. but then she looks up at the sky and nods with a smile.

“my favorite part of the day is right when the sun starts to set and the sky is all orange. it’s darker now. but i think it’s beautiful too.”

“why’s it your favorite?” mina asks, looking up to see what nayeon sees.

the cheer captain giggles softly, adjusting the bag slung over her shoulder. “well simply because practice starts to end at around that time and it means i can finally rest.”

“oh.”

“what about you?” nayeon returns the question.

mina’s never really thought much about it. but she thinks of nayeon’s description and it takes her to the past few days spent in detention. all those times she’d linger in the classroom just to catch one more glimpse of the brunette before leaving. she remembers how the sun’s rays would adorn the cheer captain’s skin, making her look extra gorgeous. like she was some sort of unreachable goddess. when she thinks of sunsets now, she thinks of im nayeon. so it’s only obvious that she likes them now too.

however, when her eyes land on said cheer captain who’s still quite busy marveling at the sky, she doesn’t see the extremely bright light of the orange-yellow rays making her shine like some ethereal being. no, the streetlights, the moon, the stars, and the tiniest bit of sun are all competing at giving light to her beauty. mina’s favorite part of it all is that she gets to see it up close. as if she could actually reach her.

“sunsets are nice,” she guesses.

“but i like how it looks now.” mina admits.

(and she’s not looking at the sky when she says it.)

-

they end up at the noodle restaurant just a few blocks ahead of the ice cream. one that mina’s never been to. but nayeon insists they make the best ramen so what does mina do?

she agrees and even orders the same thing.

she finds out too late that nayeon’s favorite bowl of noodles is extra spicy and maybe she should’ve guessed it from the name, ‘hot stuff’, but it didn’t stop her.

little did she know she would spend the next minutes feeling like every tastebud in her mouth has burnt and wilted, if not washed away by the massive gulps of water she’s been drinking. all the while, nayeon is seated on the stool beside her enjoying every bite so much that she can hear hums of satisfaction.

“isn’t it delicious?”

mina struggles to give her a straight answer because at this point her mouth is on fire. it was actually good, but only for the first few seconds that the heat didn’t kick in. it’s unfortunate mina wasn’t blessed with a tolerance for anything spicy.

when nayeon finally turns to her side fully, she looks shell shocked. mina guesses she might have looked like her whole body was on fire too.

“mina you’re so red—

nayeon stops mid sentence, grabbing some napkins to dab off the sweat on her forehead. mina’s heart skips a beat. if this is nayeon’s way of making her less red then it’s surely never going to work.

“was that too spicy for you?” the brunette asks softly.

mina’s barely able to catch what nayeon asks next when she’s so busy staring at her every feature up close.

“just a little.” she answers, embarrassed at her current state.

“you’ve run out of water too. here have mine.” nayeon offers her glass concernedly and mina freezes (ironically).

this would make it their 3rd indirect kiss..

“thank you.” she mutters, but water doesn’t quite get rid of the heat she feels in her whole mouth. (or her face for that matter.)

“is it...” there’s hesitation in nayeon’s voice as she takes her seat back on the stool, facing mina. “is it bad?”

“i can bear it.” mina reassures. she might have burnt off her tastebuds but she’d prefer that over seeing nayeon with her eyebrows creased and shoulders tensed as if she’s at fault.

“maybe you wanna order something else?” mina sees nayeon playing with her fingers this time, in a nervous manner she’s never seen before. “there’s this other really good flavor that you might like! there’s seafood, or, maybe you want a rice bowl? they have that as well—”

“i’m okay, i’ll pass for now.” the blonde replies with a grateful grin. she doesn’t want the latter to to be so concerned. but at the same time, it doesn’t lift the frown on the cheer captain’s face and it sends her into a quick panic. was that the wrong thing to say?

“um,” nayeon bites her lip. “maybe you want to order a drink? to soothe your tongue?” she lifts her brows expectantly.

and mina doesn’t want to burden her so she shakes her head. “oh no, that’s okay.”

unfortunately, it doesn’t lift the mood either and mina begins to wonder if she’s doing anything right. even when nayeon smiles, it doesn’t reach her eyes and the blonde swears she sees a bit of disappointment in the brunette’s face right before she turns back to her bowl of noodles.

the awkward air from when they were in the classroom returns. it almost feels as of they were both stepping on thin ice but mina doesn’t know why...

it’s silent for a long minute before nayeon finally speaks up. “i guess we should just get ice cream now?”

mina nods, rapidly. surely ice cream will make things better right?

they finish up paying for their orders and mina just quietly trails after nayeon. the growing tension between them makes her second guess whether they even know each other. it’s as if this whole week hadn’t even happened.

and she’s only a few feet behind nayeon but it’s starting to feel like the brunette is growing farther and farther away.

mina curses her social skills. if she were sana or momo or one of nayeon’s friends, she would’ve probably figured out a way to lighten the atmosphere by now. she would’ve started up a conversation or cracked a joke to make the cheer captain laugh.

but sadly, she’s the total opposite, stuck staring at said captain’s back pathetically because her mind is running at 100 miles per hour and yet she still can’t come up with anything to say.

it’s weird, she thinks. it also worries her. nayeon seems to be a little off today. is she purposely being distant?

is there something bothering her?

‘should i ask?’

when they both enter the ice cream shop, the blonde speeds up her pace to catch up with the other girl.

“nayeon—” she starts, just a few feet behind the brunette but another voice doesn’t let her finish.

“mina unnie?”

it’s chaeyoung, holding on to an empty tray. mina’s eyes widen before she sends a small wave to the approaching girl. “hi chaeyoung.”

“long time no see?”

mina nods while chuckling at the inside joke, watching the younger girl’s dimple deepen in a gleeful smile.

“and hi nayeon unnie!”

mina hadn’t even realized the brunette had made her way beside her as well so she watches quietly as the two interact.

“hi chaeyoungie! how’s work?”

“hmm, not too bad actually. customers have been nice. on top of that, it’s great seeing you guys again!”

mina finds it amusing that just an hour ago probably, chaeyoung was wearing her art apron overflowing with paint and now she’s wearing a similar cream colored apron absolutely free of any stain.

“hmm, are you guys on a date or something?”

immediately, mina feels the heat crawl up to her face. the mere question has her heart caught in her throat.

‘d-date?’

she gulps.

‘is this what dating looks like...?’

“of course not! we’re just two friends hanging out for some ice cream.” nayeon explains first.

chaeyoung lifts an eyebrow curiously. “okay well, you ‘friends’ should go ahead and order your ice cream now, i’ll just bring them to you!”

after a brief exchange of goodbyes, mina’s eyes uncontrollably move to find nayeon as she follows her to the line. it’s almost magnetic how they just travel to the cheer captain.

nayeon turns around at the same time meeting her eyes and for that split second, time just stops.but neither of then are able to hold it for any longer when they both awkwardly look away at the same time.

mina wishes she could just talk comfortably with the latter. that she wouldn’t have to spend so much time overthinking every single scenario that comes to mind if she were to say something.

but the moment she finally musters up a good sentence in her mind,

they speak at the same time.

“nayeon—

“mina—

the blonde bites her lip. “you go first.”

“i was just going to ask what flavor you would like?”

“o-oh,” mina hadn’t even realized an employee had been waiting patiently for them to order. she quickly scans the ice cream showcase and finds her favorite basic vanilla flavor in sight. and right beside it is nayeon’s.

nayeon orders strawberry just as she predicted and after paying, they approach the seating area. mina, being so busy looking around the vicinity for any unoccupied seats, doesn’t notice nayeon’s made a sudden stop.

“i found an empty spot!”

the blonde barely stops herself from colliding into nayeon when she again, turns around all of a sudden.

a sharp gasp escapes her lips.

‘1...’

their faces are only inches apart.

‘2...’

mina can’t even get her mind to function, except to blink her wide eyes.

‘3...’

the world around them just magically erases itself.

‘4...’

and every sound is muted except for the wild heart drumming out of her chest.

‘5...’

nayeon looks away.

—

moles.

nayeon can’t get rid of the image of mina’s face up close. she can’t stop thinking of all the moles adorning her face. she can’t even look at the girl again without her heart thumping like she had just finished a routine. it’s not the first time today either.

even when they get seated in the booth just right across from each other, nayeon finds herself staring outside the window. but it does no good in distracting her from wanting to personally count mina’s moles herself. she wonders if mina herself knows how many there are.

“nayeon?” mina breaks the silence.

“yeah?” nayeon can only look at her briefly before looking down at her hands, pretending to be occupied with her fingers.

“yo-you can be comfortable around me.”

mina’s words sufficiently garner nayeon’s attention.

“i’m not a big talker but i can listen. i’m good at that.” the blonde continues. “if there’s anything bothering you, you can tell me too. really,you can tell me anything.”

mina gulps, she looks as if she’s taken quite a lot of effort to say all that.

then she looks at nayeon nervously, yet with warmth in her eyes.

“...because we’re friends right?”

nayeon widens her eyes. it hits her like a tidal wave and she’s reminded of her foolproof plan to establish a friendship with the blonde. to eventually keep her in the best friend zone so that mina wouldn’t feel anything for her.

best friends.

that’s right. that is what they will become. nothing more, nothing less.

“of course.” nayeon smiles.

that’s all it takes for nayeon to start acting like herself again. all the weird thoughts and weird feelings, she pushes to the back of her mind. she pretends the flutter in her chest when mina smiles is nothing. she pretends the goosebumps she feels when mina giggles is because of the cold. there she shouldn’t be any reason why she has to overthink.

she pretends mina is jeongyeon. someone who’ll take her jokes. someone that won’t judge her.

she realizes she hasn’t been making any progress. she had been too caught up in her thoughts that she had almost forgotten her plan. that she’s supposed to treat mina like she’s a best friend.

shortly after, chaeyoung arrives with a tray carrying their ice cream bowls.

and when the cute girl smiles at mina, the weird squeeze in nayeon’s stomach somehow resurfaces for the third time. the first being the moment she witnessed their interaction in the classroom and the second, was a few minutes ago when they had first arrived.

nayeon refuses to let it bother her any longer. especially when chaeyoung is smiling at her now and she looks so endearing. she has no choice but to send her one of her toothy grins as well.

it’s nothing, she reminds herself.

“enjoy it, you two,” chaeyoung says before going back to her station.

“you two seem close.” nayeon comments after taking a spoonful of her dessert.

the girl across from her raises her brows, startled. “actually, chaeyoung and i met formally earlier today.”

“formally?”

mina goes off to explaining the first time they had collided into one another and how they had a coincidentally similar meeting earlier today, with them finally introducing themselves.

midway into mina’s story, nayeon thinks of how mina smiled so warmly at chaeyoung when she saw them in the classroom. and how comfortable she seemed to be with the dimpled girl. it didn’t seem like they had only just met. rather, there was already a sense of familiarity that the two shared.

while mina couldn’t even keep a conversation with her the first few days...

“... it was quiet because she was busy with her art but i managed to talk with her comfortably,” nayeon brings her head up to find mina smiling to herself as if she were recollecting the memory.

the cheer captain can’t help but feel a little disappointed that they didn’t have as good of a first meeting as mina did with chaeyoung. mina couldn’t even look at her.

“but i have you to thank,” the blonde continues, this time her smile is directed at the brunette.

nayeon purses her lips before speaking. “oh really? were you able to look her in the eyes too? unlike me?” she laces humor in her words when she asks.

the blonde nods shyly, meeting nayeon’s eyes with her own deep and sincere ones. there’s a brief skip in her heart.

she looks away (again), finding sudden interest in the night scenery outside. she is able to continue the conversation, albeit a little distractedly because her eyes fall on every place except for mina.

nayeon learns about chaeyoung’s showcase after nationals. about how mina will be attending to support her. the brunette has only ever heard of how good chaeyoung’s art is from jeongyeon.(whenever the tall girl gushes about her, which by the way, is every day.) for some reason, hearing it from mina makes her feel the tiniest bit of envy.

so she changes the subject of the conversation, mentioning their outing after nationals. and it sparks a nervous look on mina’s face.

“it’ll be fun, i swear!” she assures, then going off to describe what they do during the outing. like have a barbecue, movie marathon, play games, sit by the fire, or even jump in to the lake. all the while mina listens with a smile, her eyes lighting up particularly at the last activity.

“you can jump into the water?” she asks, resembling a child when she does so.

“yeah, it’s pretty deep though, can you swim?”

mina nods excitedly.

“you should teach me then.” nayeon replies jokingly not expecting the blonde to start blushing. it’s kind of adorable.

“i-i... i can—

“i’m just joking!” nayeon laughs, very much enjoying the flustered mina. “i know how to swim.”

‘only if the water is knee deep.’ she finishes in her thoughts, too embarrassed to actually admit that she can’t swim period.

the next few minutes become uncountable because they chat up a storm—well, nayeon chats up a storm. mina on the other hand, is attentively taking everything in, responding with all the right things, even mentioning details that nayeon didn’t think too much of when she’s had so many stories to tell.

it’s heartwarming. being with mina, that is. being with her is even starting to almost feel like home. even the tension she had felt earlier had slowly dissipated, now replaced with simply the most pleasant sensations.

even when nayeon has to take a breath from all the talking and it gets silent for a moment, it’s anything but uncomfortable. in fact, nayeon takes that time to steal glances at the blonde.

so far she’s counted five prominent moles on her face. one on her forehead, one on the bridge of her nose, one on her chin, one near her upper lip and another near her bottom lip...

(so much for resisting the urge to count...)

eventually, the night does wind down and tiredness inevitably begins to take over nayeon. when she isn’t able to stifle her yawn as subtly as she planned, mina gives her an understanding smile, suggesting they should head out.

nayeon waits for mina to exit the booth and this time, she matches her pace so that they’re walking side by side.

for a second, her hand ever-so-slightly grazes on to mina’s surprisingly cold one. it gives her somewhat of a friction shock.

it takes her another few seconds to figure out if she should hold it, her eyes planted on mina’s attractive hand that’s literally just centimeters away.

‘wait...

... attractive?’

nayeon shakes off her inner dilemma and finally decides on holding mina’s hand. she even switches her duffel to her other shoulder so that there isn’t a huge bag in between them. 

just as her fingers reach mina’s, they’re stopped by the cute part-timer, and unconsciously, nayeon retracts her hand, engulfing it with her own instead.

the shorter girl looks at mina first, dimpled smile on full display as if it’s only for mina to see and nayeon feels the need to make her presence known. but she holds herself and waits for said girl to look at her as well.

“hey! i hope you two had a good time.” chaeyoung says, politely.

“we did.” nayeon replies with a toothy grin, while mina just nods.

“well, come back again soon, okay?”

“uhuh!” nayeon responds enthusiastically.

they keep their chat short so as to not hold up chaeyoung in the middle of her work and after their final waves of goodbye, it’s back to the two of them again. side by side, til they’re greeted by the chilly evening.

soon enough, their hands touch again...

this time, it’s more than just a slight graze. it’s skin-to-skin contact and close enough to feel both the softness and coldness of the other girl’s hand.

and this time, the cheer captain resists the urge to think too much. so she goes for it without hesitation, only letting out a soft sigh of relief when mina doesn’t pull away.

nayeon wonders if there’s ever been a hand that perfectly fit in hers like this.

“friends do this all the time,” she starts, feeling the need to justify her action as platonic.

“ye-yeah.” mina agrees, her eyes are looking up at the stars and nayeon only sees half her face but but there’s a light blush dusted from her cheeks all the way to her ears. “that’s right.”

“umm, the sky looks beautiful!” mina blurts out, prompting nayeon to look up from their intertwined hands.

nayeon remembers mina’s earlier question about evenings. she remembers saying telling her that her favorite part was the sun setting.

but when she looks up at the starlit sky, she’s reminded of the freckles on mina’s face. when she feels the wind on her skin, she’s reminded of how mina’s hand in her own is all she’ll need to feel warm.

so when she thinks of the evenings now she thinks of mina too.

she doesn’t realize she’s smiling when she speaks.

“i think this might just be my new favorite.”

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> expect fluff, with a dash of crack moments and maybe angst


End file.
